Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-02-02-Speech-1-111"
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"en.20090202.16.1-111"2
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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, you already have the text of the question put to the Commission on the solution of energy efficiency problems through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), so please allow me to add a couple of remarks. I should like to thank all the shadow rapporteurs and other members for their efforts, which have contributed a whole range of ideas to the final version of the resolution embodying the question put to the Commission. A compromise solution was eventually found for almost 90 proposed amendments and the document was unanimously adopted by the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.
We are just at the very beginning in our efforts to improve energy efficiency using ICT. Perhaps it seemed to us in the autumn of last year that we were in fact preparing a review and a strategy for the future. The events of recent weeks have confronted us with a new set of realities. Both the financial crisis and the interruption in the supply of gas to some EU Member States, as already mentioned, have established the need to take all available steps in order to meet the energy challenges as quickly as possible. The same applies to the need for a pronounced improvement in energy efficiency (the efficient use of energy) with the broadest possible application of ICT. It is more than obvious that, without the sensible and, I should like to emphasise, considered and most wide-ranging application of these technologies, we shall succeed neither in reducing energy consumption nor in limiting the adverse effects of climate change.
With the help of specialised centres, research institutes, representatives of important industrial sectors and state authorities in Member States of the Union, we have attempted to chart the situation regarding the use of ICT for enhanced energy assessment. Any attempt to reduce energy demand should not be allowed to run counter to the ambitions of the EU to maintain competitiveness and sustainable economic development. We can definitely not go down the extreme path of ‘making savings, whatever the cost’.
It is true that reducing energy demand is one of the most effective means of limiting emissions of greenhouse gases. However, we are also involved in concepts such as intelligent grids, intelligent buildings and more efficient measurement of energy consumption. We are talking about the application of ICT in transportation and construction, limiting the movement of goods, more efficient lighting systems and solutions such as nanotechnology etc. In short, it is hard to find a sector in which energy efficiency cannot be improved with the aid of ICT developments. In preparing the document, we simply confirmed that all our attempts to deal with energy demands in the EU are closely interlinked and interdependent. As a result, the support we, as the EP, have given to the Galileo Project will be reflected in efficient transportation, movement of goods and people and so on.
I am pleased to mention here that in the EU we already have more than one example of the successful application of ICT in the more efficient use of energy. It is good that there is talk of the need to publicise these examples as a positive motivator for the public at large. We basically know what must be done. It is just a matter of translating words into action. Otherwise citizens in the Member States will lose confidence. For many, unfortunately, we are more a bureaucratic debating club than an institution which is able to help them overcome obstacles and improve their lives.
Without exception these words also apply to the overall energy policy, as dealt with in her report by our fellow Member Mrs Laperrouze. I was the shadow rapporteur for the document on the second strategic review of this policy and I should like to thank Mrs Laperrouze for her excellent work in eventually achieving a compromise solution for her report. The result is more realistic and persuasive than the original text. As was to be expected, the approaching EP elections have seen the onset of a certain degree of populism directed towards the voters. Great ambitions have appeared and people like to hear them. However, their fulfilment lies often beyond the borders of reality. Yes, we should all like to meet energy demands exclusively by means of renewable sources. That would be ideal. However, I personally would urge realism. The same applies to the attempt to force into the document a staggering 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 rather than a more realistic 50-80%.
Opponents of nuclear energy are again attempting to exclude this emission-free source, which is vitally important for Europe, from the overall energy mix. It must be perfectly clear to anyone who does not simply wish to follow the fashionable line and exploit the fear of nuclear energy that we simply cannot manage without it. We shall have to invest in a new generation of nuclear power plants, safe storage and reuse of fuel and nuclear fusion. I consider it sensible that the report in essence supports the inclusion of nuclear power in the mix. Finally, it is important, in my view, to attempt a better integration of energy grids, for example with the Baltic States. These states were left in the lurch for years by simply making promises. I also appreciate that we have here again an idea of better coordination in the use of transmission networks, using perhaps, if we so wish, some kind of central control system."@en1
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