MEP Herbert Reul must get with the times on new EU energy labelling rules
European People’s Party MEP Herbert Reul’s claim that a swift revision of current energy efficiency labels for electronic products will be bad for business is baseless, counterproductive and obsolete, said the European Environmental Bureau today.
Stephane Arditi, Coolproducts campaign co-ordinator, said:
“By continuing to insist that a quick shift to genuinely effective energy labels may be detrimental to businesses, Mr Reul remains stubbornly blind to the obvious benefits these changes would bring. When companies making truly efficient products have to label them ‘A+++-30%’ to promote this, it is obvious how quickly these reforms are needed.”
“Mr Reul must drop these stale arguments for which he can produce no evidence to support and realise that measures benefiting consumers do not come at the expense of businesses and the economy, but can actually raise profits and trigger more innovation.”
In a recent article in Politico, Mr. Reul suggested that quickly introducing new energy efficiency labels could have an adverse effect on factories, shop owners and businesses.
However, an impact assessment carried out by the European Commission in July 2015 estimated that changes to current energy efficiency labelling standards could save consumers between €10 billion and €30 billion in energy savings, while creating €34 billion of additional commercial revenue for businesses.