Prénom de l'expert

Maïté

Nom de l'expert

JAUREGUY-NAUDIN

Historical leader of the fight against climate change, the European Union’s influence declined in Copenhagen. This opened the way to the so-called BASIC countries to show their willingness to become a driving force in the international climate agenda. Interestingly enough, the Copenhagen conference also introduced a welcome shift in the traditional UN separation between developed and non-developed countries.

Europe’s energy policy is commonly defined by three axes of equal importance: security of supplies, competitiveness and sustainable development. The European Commission is mandated to develop the policy tools that allow the implementation of this common policy. Early on, challenges arose from the trade-offs to be made not only between these three pillars but also between a common European policy and national approaches. The European Commission has always had to struggle in attempting to keep a balanced line.

On 22 June 2011, a proposal for increased Energy Efficiency was presented by the European Commission. The energy efficiency directive was intensely negotiated and faced strong internal opposition from a number of players. DG Climate officials have shared their concerns with the public.