Liquid Gas Europe has submitted its response to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence on the future Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) framework after 2030

Liquid Gas Europe has submitted its response to the European Commission's Call for Evidence on the future Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) framework after 2030

Liquid Gas Europe has submitted its response to the European Commission's Call for Evidence on the future Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) framework after 2030. Drawing on input from members and national associations across several Member States, the paper highlights a widening gap between policy ambition and practical implementation. While the objective of improving energy efficiency is widely supported, the current framework is too often applied in ways that reduce clarity, narrow eligible solutions, and create barriers to delivery-particularly in rural, off-grid, decentralised, and industrial settings.

LGE's contribution calls on the Commission to ensure that the post-2030 EED remains practical, cost-effective, and adaptable to different national realities. In particular, it argues that implementation must preserve technology neutrality, provide legal certainty, and recognise transitional and hybrid solutions that can deliver real savings and emissions reductions where one-size-fits-all approaches do not work.

Summary

In its response, Liquid Gas Europe warns that the main challenge for the future EED is not a lack of ambition, but the way the Directive is implemented on the ground. Evidence from national markets points to recurring problems: delayed or uneven transposition, fragmented support schemes, legal uncertainty over which measures are eligible, and an increasing reliance on technology-prescriptive approaches that favour a single pathway irrespective of local conditions.

The paper identifies several key bottlenecks. These include unclear treatment of fossil-related and fuel-switching measures under Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes, weakening technology neutrality in subsidy design and local planning, and limited recognition of transitional and hybrid solutions in hard-to-abate sectors. LGE stresses that this can leave untapped cost-saving opportunities, undermine investor confidence, and make compliance more difficult for obligated parties.

For LGE, the lesson for the post-2030 framework is clear: implementation design matters as much as headline targets. The future EED should provide Member States and market actors with a stable, intelligible framework that supports a broad range of practical solutions. That is especially important for rural and off-grid households, older building stock, decentralised heating applications, and industry segments where flexibility, affordability, and real-world feasibility are essential to delivering the energy transition successfully.