Doc. 11251

17 April 2007

Preserving the environment by energy savings in public administrations and the Council of Europe

Motion for a recommendation

presented by Mr Dupraz and others

      Energy questions and in particular energy savings as a way of reducing pollution, limiting climate change and contributing to the preservation of the environment have long been among the Assembly’s topics of interest, as witnesses Resolution 1435 (2005) on energy systems and the environment.

Public administrations should also make conservation and energy efficiency a priority and should be urged to take steps towards contributing to the preservation of the environment and reducing costs through efficient energy saving measures within their own areas of activity.

In fact, public administrations sometimes tend to neglect simple and cheap possibilities of saving energy. They should therefore use less energy-intensive materials and technologies and reduce their energy consumption (lighting, transport, paper consumption), etc.

The Assembly invites member states to urge public administrations to save energy:

-       by planning and constructing energy-saving buildings;

-       by installing solar panel systems on administrative buildings, allowing for the production of electricity and/or hot water;

-       by gradually replacing their fleet of cars by more ecological models;

-       by reducing energy consumption for lighting (which can represent up to one third of the general electricity consumption in administrative buildings) and heating;

-       by implementing electricity-saving technologies in administrative buildings (lighting, computer equipment, etc);

-       by introducing paper and electronic waste recycling;

-       by encouraging civil servants to use public transport or by facilitating access to alternative means of transport to get to work;

-       by promoting a real energy-saving culture among civil servants, not only at work but also at home.

In particular, the Assembly invites the Council of Europe itself to serve as an example in energy saving by taking measures to reduce energy consumption, using environmentally-friendly technologies and making use of its position for influencing national administrations.

Signed ¹:

DUPRAZ John, Switzerland, ALDE

de MELO, Maria Manuela, Portugal, SOC

PREDA, Cezar Florin, Romania, EPP/CD

BOCKEL Jean-Marie, France, SOC

HUSS Jean, Luxembourg, SOC

LENGAGNE, Guy, France, SOC

DORIĆ Miljenko, Croatia, ALDE

MEALE, Alan, United Kingdom, SOC

ETHERINGTON Bill, United Kingdom, SOC

IVANOV Ivan Nikolaev, Bulgaria, EPP/CD

¹        SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      ALDE: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group