Most organizations present stressed the need for clear, transparent, and well-resourced policy processes to minimize delays and enable the EU to achieve its climate and energy objectives. Many emphasized the importance of strengthening market surveillance and compliance mechanisms and supporting them with additional resources.

CLASP also called for deeper civil society engagement in standards development to help ensure that standards remain relevant, ambitious, and responsive to technological innovation.

In addition, CLASP believes that improved coordination, digital tools, and consistent guidance across EU Member States are key to ensuring that products sold on the market meet EU efficiency standards.

CLASP is proud to support the European Commission and EU Member States in strengthening product efficiency policies that benefit people, businesses, and the planet, in Europe and beyond.

Moving the UK toward healthier, cleaner, and more efficient electric cooking is about far more than simply replacing appliances. Indoor air pollution from gas stoves disproportionately impacts vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions, making this a critical public health issue, as much an environmental one.

Achieving an equitable transition to modern cooking technologies requires addressing systemic barriers and prioritizing policies that support low-income families and other groups often left behind in clean energy initiatives. Beyond health and environmental benefits, electric cooking improves kitchen safety by eliminating open flames and gas leaks, in addition to reducing energy costs over time. Another benefit: Electric cooking is compatible with renewable energy and smart technologies that help households better manage their energy use, fostering more efficient and climate-friendly homes.

For more information about the retrofit pilot project: https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/clean-air/gas-to-electric

Check out CLASP’s resources on the topic: https://www.clasp.ngo/cook-cleaner-europe/

This report presents a technical assessment of testing methods, energy efficiency metrics, and minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for air-to-water heat pumps and chillers in cooling mode across China, the European Union (EU), and the United States (US). These regions represent the largest markets for heat pump technologies, each employing distinct testing protocols, metrics, and requirements.

The analyses offer insights into how Chinese, EU, and US standards align or diverge, how performance comparisons can be made across energy efficiency standards, and where opportunities for international standard alignment exist.

Key findings:

• The US energy efficiency metric approximates 114% of China’s metric, while the EU’s metric differs by ±3% compared to China’s.

• China’s revised MEPS matches or exceeds EU and US efficiency benchmarks for low-capacity units.

• Requirements for high-capacity products in China still show room for improvement.

With 666 million people around the world still lacking access to electricity, efficient appliances can make the difference between who gets power and who doesn’t, particularly in energy-constrained regions where every kilowatt-hour counts.

The rules are designed to improve product durability against drops, scratches, dust, and water. Batteries must be longer-lasting and endure at least 800 charge cycles while retaining 80% of their original capacity. To improve repairability, manufacturers are now required to provide key spare parts within five to ten working days and ensure their availability for at least seven years after a product model is discontinued. In addition, operating system updates must be made available for a minimum of five years following the sale of the last unit. To support independent repair, professionals will be granted fair access to the necessary software and firmware. The rules also include measures to promote device reuse, including requirements for easy deletion of personal data, as well as clear, accessible information on battery health.

Along with durability, repair, and reuse provisions, the new regulation introduces mandatory energy labeling for these devices. Labels will include energy efficiency ratings, battery performance metrics, and, for the first time, a repairability score ranging from A (most repairable) to E (least repairable), designed to help consumers make more informed, sustainable choices.

By making products more durable and easier to repair, the rules help extend product lifespan and reduce the need for critical raw materials. At the same time, specific requirements encourage recyclability, supporting efforts toward building a more circular economy.

The EC’s impact assessment estimates that the new regulation could lead to important annual reductions of carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂), reaching 3,5 megatons (Mt) in 2030 alone. CLASP’s analysis of the EC’s Impact Accounting study found that, over the longer term, cumulative CO₂ emissions reductions could reach 96 Mt by 2050. Should similar regulations improving the repairability of smartphones be adopted globally within the next five years, up to 1,500 Mt of CO₂ emissions can be avoided by 2050.

CLASP’s research, carried out in collaboration with the Right to Repair coalition, highlighted the barriers consumers face when trying to repair their devices. The paper shed light on how certain manufacturer practices limit the ability of independent repairers and users to replace serialized parts.

As a result of the paper’s findings, the final regulation was updated to ensure that independent repair professionals and users can access all the tools and support needed to replace and connect key spare parts. This means repairs are no longer limited to manufacturer-approved service centers and represents a significant step toward fairer, more accessible product repair.

While the EU regulation improves transparency, product durability, and technical repairs, there remain important opportunities to strengthen the rules in future revisions and unlock a more open and competitive repair system that further benefits people and the environment.

Currently, manufacturers must provide transparent pricing for spare parts and ensure fair access to the tools and software required for repairs. This transparency is a crucial first step but does not fully eliminate the risk of discriminatory practices. In many cases, the use of serialization allows manufacturers to control part compatibility and charge excessively high prices for replacements.

Serialization could be further restricted to open the market to third-party replacement parts. While the current requirements enable independent repairers and end-users to install key spare parts, manufacturers can still use a process called digital pairing, which limits or blocks parts that aren’t digitally recognized and authorized by the original manufacturer.

Banning serialization would give consumers the freedom to choose between parts from original manufacturers or alternatives from other suppliers. It would also help address concerns around high prices for spare parts.

As the EU market adapts to the new regulation, compliance and upcoming policy revisions will be key to ensuring that it delivers on its full potential for people and the planet, both within the EU and beyond. To support this, CLASP will seek opportunities to monitor industry practices and inform the upcoming assessment of these rules, planned for 2027.

In his introduction to the event, one of the report’s authors, Bishal Thapa, CLASP’s chief strategy and impacts officer, provided an overview of its thesis. To date, attempts to provide universal energy access have failed because they have focused exclusively on supply, he said, with the idea that if we “just keep expanding the grid . . . lo and behold, everyone will get electricity.” In practice, however, because people living in the affected areas lack appliances that allow them to translate electricity into useful services, these efforts often don’t work out as intended.

“We’ve got to look at demand creation as a way of stimulating the economic and financial viability of grid expansion,” he said.

Thapa’s remarks were followed by a panel discussion moderated by Ashden’s Ashok Sinha. Panelists included Sam Grant, CLASP’s senior director of clean energy access and a coauthor of the forthcoming report; SunCulture’s Samir Ibrahim; Mirova’s Nicole Kugelmass; Lightrock’s Hanaan Marwah; and Power for All’s Carolina Inés Pan.

CLASP organized a second event on Monday with ZE-Gen, an initiative that promotes zero-emission power generators, with support from UK Aid. Focused on people-centered climate solutions in the Global South, the event presented examples of collaborations between communities, governments, private-sector actors, and nonprofits that create tangible benefits for local stakeholders.

During the panel discussion, Thapa discussed how CLASP’s work on appliance efficiency policy reduces greenhouse gas emissions and helps more people access the appliances they need to thrive in a warming world.

Another panelist, Dana Crawhall, talked about the Climate and Clean Air Coalition‘s focus on super pollutants—the chemicals most responsible for short-term global warming. Since these pollutants have profound implications for people’s everyday lives in the Global South, affecting everything from food security and economic development to health, reducing them is vitally important. “This [super pollutant] agenda is really, really critical for the development agenda, to make good on the SDGs,” she said.

Additional panelists included the International Institute for Environment and Development’s Kevin Johnstone, KOC Bridge for Peace’s Karana Olivier, and Intellecap’s Santosh Singh. The discussion was moderated by Cipher News’s Anca Gurzu.

CLASP experts are also appearing at several other events during the remainder of the week. Follow us on LinkedIn and Bluesky for more information.