It can't have escaped anyone's notice that we're caught in an energy fix right now; whilst the specifics vary depending on the region, nowhere in Europe is sitting comfortably in a position of energy security and fixed affordable prices. Despite EU efforts to agree on unified policies to protect all Member States, the knowledge that we are all feeling the pressure does little to assuage a sense that things are going to get worse and we should all be tightening our belts, both at the household and national level.
With governments across the continent digging deep into public funds to offer some level of support to companies and individuals, they are at the same time becoming ever more vocal about the limits to their spending. Often hesitant to state explicit cuts to public services, they are nonetheless giving increasing airtime to the deficit, which in several (large) EU states has surpassed 100% of GDP. At around 108%, Belgium is one of them.
As a result of the converging budget and energy concerns, Member States are on a mission to track down excesses in expenditure and trim the fat. Yet whilst a national drive for economy will inevitably turn up some easy savings opportunities, key to deciding whether these are of benefit should be the knock-on effects of a cut in funding.
In many cases, a more frugal approach to tightening comes with benefits such as efficiency gains. Yet tightening the purse strings can also become an economic non-sense when factoring in the wider repercussions. This concern has been raised by Brussels mayors who fear that the returns of switching off public lighting will be offset by the incidents this will give rise to.
Though street lighting accounts for 1% of electricity consumption in the Capital Region, the amount of energy that would actually be saved would be only a fraction of this. The City has also decided to turn off lighting for public buildings, mainly as a show of unity with other EU nations.
Yet one can't help wondering whether the symbolism of this is outweighed by consequent losses. Brussels Grand Place is normally an inspiring after-dark location, drawing tourists and trade to its golden facades. For what must be fairly limited energy savings it is now glum and remarkably empty once the lights go out.
Are the city's attempts to save simply a poor return on virtue signalling? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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