Doing more with less: efficiency, the key to European sovereignty and competitiveness
Every winter, Europe shivers in the cold, at the mercy of foreign suppliers. Every summer, it suffocates under the weight of energy that becomes more expensive the more it is wasted on inefficient infrastructure. We are like a giant plugged into someone else's socket. We cannot call ourselves sovereign if we have to beg others to keep the lights on.
While the United States invokes freedom and sovereignty by relying on the abundance of its fossil fuels, Europe depends on Russian gas, Middle Eastern oil, and Chinese solar panels.
This dependence, on whomever it may be, is a strategic weakness. Following the war in Ukraine, Europe has sought to diversify its energy sources. But replacing one dependence with another is futile. True autonomy will not come from importing LNG from Qatar instead of Russia, nor from tripling fossil fuel imports from the United States to please its president. It will come from reducing Europe's energy consumption and using it more intelligently.
We continue to use outdated, 20th-century systems to solve 21st-century problems. Our infrastructure, technologies, and economic models were designed in an era when energy was cheap, well before the climate and energy crises changed the rules of the game. Today, we transport goods using systems that ignore real-time data, live in poorly insulated buildings, and drive internal-combustion vehicles that waste three-quarters of their fuel.
It's not only unsustainable: it's also unnecessary and costly, because there's another way: energy efficiency, the key to restoring Europe's strength, from energy outlets to citizens' awareness. According to the International Energy Agency, efficiency can achieve over 40% emissions reductions by 2040, creating jobs, cutting costs, and reducing dependence. The solutions exist, they're European and already available; we just need the courage to implement them.
Efficiency isn't limited to insulating buildings or replacing light bulbs: it can transform our industries, cities, and consumer habits. Concrete examples abound: a Norwegian airline saved $13 million in a year thanks to fuel optimization software; the city of Poissy reduced air conditioning costs by over €200,000 annually thanks to smart curtains in schools.
However, progress is patchy. European funds represent a lifeline, but bureaucracy and short-termism too often slow down their effectiveness.
Curiously, politicians often show reluctance towards efficiency, confusing it with moderation and considering it a brake on economic growth. In reality, while moderation means doing less with less, efficiency allows us to do better with less: a choice for progress, competitiveness, and sovereignty.
Furthermore, energy efficiency is socially just. It reduces household energy bills, protects vulnerable communities from price shocks, and reduces the health effects of pollution. In every sense, it represents a true transfer of power from foreign autocracies to European citizens.
Europe has always prided itself on its climate leadership. But true leadership requires action, not just words. The continent must set binding and ambitious efficiency targets, update building codes, accelerate the adoption of clean technologies, and concretely support local governments in implementing changes on the ground.
Because the real question isn't whether Europe can afford to be efficient. The real question is whether Europe can afford not to be.
La Repubblica
