Bitkom on the EU Commission's "Fit for 55" proposals

Berlin, 13 July 2021 - On Wednesday, the EU Commission will present its legislative proposals for achieving the EU's 2030 climate target. Bitkom President Achim Berg states:

"European climate policy needs a digital DNA. Climate protection and digitalisation constitute the basis of a sustainable Europe and must be developed and advanced together. It is therefore good that the European Commission is closely linking the path to climate neutrality with digitalisation under the "Twin Transition". Bitkom very much welcomes the fact that the Commission is placing digital technologies on an equal footing with energy-saving measures and the expansion of renewable energy sources. This will accelerate the development towards climate neutrality and can also create competitive advantages for Europe. Now this plan must be filled with life. As the Bitkom study "Climate Effects of Digitalisation" shows, an accelerated and consistent use of digital technologies can save around 150 megatonnes of CO2 annually by 2030 in Germany alone. The EU member states can achieve their climate protection goals much faster with the help of digitalisation.

Bitkom particularly welcomes the planned amendment of the Energy Efficiency Directive. Digital technologies can make an enormous contribution to its implementation, for example by using data analyses to identify levers for more energy efficiency in all sectors. It is equally important that the directive also addresses the CO2 emissions of digitisation itself and, for example, focuses on common EU-wide standards for data centres. Bitkom proposes a uniform energy label for European data centres that is developed on the basis of existing standards and contains practical approaches. In contrast, the so-called Blue Angel for data centres as a national solo effort is unsuitable. Experts warn that its specifications are hardly technically feasible with state-of-the-art technologies. Data centres are at the heart of digital sovereignty, they must be strengthened in the EU and must not be pushed to non-European countries. We need data centres in Europe, e.g. for the secure cloud infrastructure based on Gaia-X.

A digital infrastructure is indispensable for the comprehensive expansion of renewable energies, which the EU Commission also recognises by integrating smart meters or smart charging into its plans."