EARLIER this year David Coburn, who sits in the European Parliament for the UK Independence Party, came up with a rather unusual argument for leaving the European Union: the quality of his morning toast. He claimed that EU regulation meant toasters had only “the power of one candle or something”, leaving his bread “all peely-wally” rather than nicely roasted. Proponents of Brexit latched on to the story as yet another example of continental meddling messing with time-honoured British traditions.
In fact, the EU does not yet regulate the energy consumption of toasters. But they are among the products currently being considered by the European Commission for inclusion in the Ecodesign Directive, the main EU policy instrument for improving the energy efficiency of products such as fridges, ovens and televisions. The directive compels manufacturers to improve efficiency and gradually phase out products that no longer meet the requirements. Ecodesign standards are complemented by energy labels to help consumers buy more efficient products that are cheaper to run. Between them, the products covered by the policy account for more than half of gross energy consumption in the EU.
Far from uselessly meddling in people’s lives, the combination of Ecodesign standards and energy labels is arguably the most successful of the EU’s energy-efficiency policies. According to the European Commission’s latest impact assessment, energy consumption for the average product will be around 18% lower by 2020 than it would have been without the Ecodesign directive. The energy savings are equivalent to around 165m tons of oil per year—more than half the energy consumption of Germany, and half the European energy savings target for 2020.
Ecodesign standards are good value, too. According to the International Energy Agency, they generate at least $3 of savings for every dollar spent, hence reducing costs as well as consumption. That makes them the most cost-effective way of reducing energy use.
