Mid-Way Report to 21st BSPC August 2012

|Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference BSPC |[pic] ||The BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency | || | ||20 August 2012 | |Mid-Way report with Political Recommendations of the BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency1. IntroductionThe 20th Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in Helsinki in August 2012 agreed on the launching of a BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency. The Conference also adopted the mandate for the Working Group. The Working Group is constituted as an ad-hoc working group under the auspices of the Standing Committee of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in accordance with the BSPC Rules of Procedure.The overarching objective of the Working Group is to elaborate political positions and recommendations in the field of green growth and energy efficiency. For this purpose, the Working Group should establish and maintain contacts with relevant institutions, organizations and other actors in the Baltic Sea Region. The Working Group and its members should aim at raising the political attention on green growth and energy efficiency, for instance by pursuing those issues in the national parliaments of the members of the Working Group. Moreover, the Working Group should contribute to the exchange of knowledge and best practices within its area of responsibility.The Working Group shall provide political input to the Conference resolutions of the 21st (2012) and the 22nd (2013) Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conferences.All member parliaments and parliamentary organizations of the BSPC are invited to participate in the Working Group. The Working Group currently has 14 member MPs.The full mandate of the Working Group can be retrieved from the homepage of the Working Group: http://www.bspc.net/page/show/5202. Basic PositionsThe Working Group has agreed that the definition of green economy presented in the OECD report on Green Growth mirrors the Group ́s perception of the concept and thus serves as a general guideline for its work. The definition says that “Green growth means fostering economic growth and development while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies. Together with innovation, going green can be a long-term driver for economic growth, through, for example, investing in renewable energy and improved efficiency in the use of energy and materials.”The Working Group notes that the cost of energy has been rising and it is expected to rise further in the years to come. Access to affordable energy is very important for facilitating growth and prosperity in the Baltic Sea Region. The cheapest energy is the energy that is saved through measures that increase energy efficiency. The Working Group agrees that measures to improve energy efficiency are of outmost importance for continued green growth in the Baltic Sea Region. Energy issues are also a crucial factor in the ongoing global debate on climate change.3. Political RecommendationsBased on discussions so far in the Working Group, and taking into account relevant and current external information, the Working Group proposes 6 political recommendations as a mid-way conclusion of its work. Those political recommendations will be conveyed to the 21st BSPC in St Petersburg 26-28 August.The Working Group calls on the Governments of the Baltic Sea Region, the CBSS and the EU to:1. Support BASREC (Baltic Sea Region Energy Cooperation): There is need for strengthened, frequent and continuous dialogue between the ministers responsible for energy cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region (BASREC). At the BASREC Ministerial meeting 14-15 May, the energy ministers of the Region agreed on a new plan of work for the next three years. The plan should be fully supported and implemented in order to promote concrete measures for connecting the energy grids of the Region and for using the limited energy resources of the Region efficiently;2. Improve Information about Green Growth and Energy Efficiency: There is broad understanding that existing opportunities and measures for increasing energy efficiency are not fully exploited. There is a need to promote and support research and development on green growth and energy efficiency, and to provide consumers and businesses with concrete knowledge about and advice on the mid- and long-term gains from energy efficiency measures, both in saving energy costs and in providing business opportunities. Energy labeling of products, based on life cycle analysis, should be further developed and disseminated, and efforts to exchange information about best practices should be supported. Such information should be reflected in public procurement;3. Promote and Allocate Financial Resources for Initiatives on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency: Many opportunities for economic energy efficiency measures, in particular in the residential housing sector, are unexploited because of financial constraints. There is a need for innovative financing schemes to make use of these opportunities. Governments, banks and financial institutions, as well as power companies, should develop and implement innovative financing for energy efficiency investments. Resources should be allocated to provide incentives to initiate pilot projects on energy efficiency. Financing schemes should be tailored especially to SMEs, which often lack the financial capabilities to acquire expertise on and implement energy efficiency measures;4. Make Concentrated and Prioritized Efforts on Energy Efficiency in the Building Sector: Energy efficiency measures are most economical when they are an integrated part of housing production and housing renovation. They should be accompanied and underpinned by a certified energy classification of buildings. Governments should take further steps to make energy efficiency a mandatory requirement in renovation projects, and encourage the production of plus-energy housing. The further development and implementation of certification systems for energy classification of new as well as old buildings should be promoted. Smart metering should enable consumers to better monitor and adapt their actual consumption, and energy billing should be made simple, transparent and accurately reflect actual consumption;5. Promote the Development of Nationally Adapted Binding Targets: There should be binding national targets for energy efficiency that take into account the specific conditions in the individual countries. Member states should, in addition to what is specified in the newly adopted EU directive, develop and implement measures that are needed to achieve the binding targets. The development and implementation of EU policies for promoting energy efficiency is of utmost importance for creating a level playing field and promoting cooperation. EU also needs to set uniform methods and rules for measuring energy efficiency and its impact;6. Promote Green Public Procurement (GPP): Each year European public authorities spend the equivalent of 16% of the EU Gross Domestic Product on the purchase of goods and services. All too often contracts are awarded based on the lowest cost, rather than the most economically advantageous tender based on life-cycle costing, leading to an inefficient allocation of resources and losses for national economies. However, as a big purchaser, the public sector has a strong position to set standards that can change the behavior of producers in a greener direction. The public sector should be encouraged to use this leverage to a much greater extent that it does today. The EU should develop environmentally sound, energy efficient, and economically fair public procurement standards in order to facilitate Green Public Procurement and to support a level playing field for businesses. The development regarding the pertinent proposal for a directive of the European parliament and of the Council on public procurement (COM(2011)896 final) as part of the so-called procurement package should be closely followed in this regard, and efforts to facilitate access by SMEs to public procurement contracts and to promote life-cycle cost assessments and an efficient use of resources be supported.4. Activities of the WG 2011-2012The BSPC Working Group on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency held its inaugural meeting in the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm on 12 December 2011. The meeting was led by the WG Chairman Ms Cecilie Tenfjord-Toftby, Sweden. Expert presentations were provided by Ms Mia Crawford, CBSS/Baltic 21, and Mr Fredrik von Malmborg, Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications, Sweden. The meeting was primarily devoted to initial discussions about the mandate, scope and priorities of the Working Group, recognizing that the overarching mission of the Group is to elaborate political recommendations on Green Growth and Energy Efficiency, and to bring an added political value from the parliamentary side to the process of creating sustainable growth in the Baltic Sea Region.The Working Group convened its second meeting in Helsinki on 2 March. The overall theme of the meeting was "Measuring Energy Efficiency". The WG made study visits to the Katri Vala Heating and Cooling Plant, the Nordic Investment Bank, and the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation. Briefings were given by Mr Pekka Sauri, Deputy Mayor of the City of Helsinki, Mr Juhani Aaltonen and Mr Marko Riipinen, Helsinki Energy, and by Mr Johan Ljungberg, Senior Director, Head of Environment, NiB, and Mr Magnus Rystedt, Managing Director, Nefco. The meeting was opened with two expert presentations: Energy Efficiency as a Strategic Tool to Meet Energy, Climate and Economic Challenges in the Baltic Sea Region by Professor Peter Lund, Aalto University, and EU Energy Efficiency Legislation by Mr Patrick Matschoss, PhD, University of Oldenburg, Finnish Institute of International Affairs.The third meeting of the Working Group was held in Riga on 8 June. The theme of the meeting was “Green Business Opportunities and Green Public Procurement”. On top of the agenda was the mid-way report and the political recommendations of the Working Group, to be presented at the 21st Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in St Petersburg 26-28 August. Expert presentations were delivered by Valdis Bisters, Director of the Climate Policy and Technology Departments of the Latvian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Developments, Lauri Tammiste, Estonian Development Fund, Director, Energy and Green Economy, and Hannes Mädo, Estonian Ministry of the Environment, Member of Directorate. The meeting was preceded by a study visit to Getliņi ECO, which is a high-tech and environmental friendly ecological waste management company. See: http://www.getlini.lv/lv/5. Way AheadThe deliberations and activities of the Working Group will proceed in 2012-2013.• The WG Mid-Way Report will be presented at the 21st BSPC in St Petersburg 26-28 August• The 4th meeting of the WG will take place in Berlin on 12 October.• The 5th meeting is planned to take place on Svalbard in February/March 2013 (date tbc)• The 6th meeting is planned to take place on the island of Bornholm in June 2013 (date tbc)• The Final Report of the WG will be presented at the 22nd BSPC in Pärnu 25-27 August 2013.