The European Energy Efficiency Financing Alliance was launched today by European Commissioner Kadri Simson, in the presence of Philippe Henry, Vice-President of the Walloon Government and Minister for Climate, Energy, Infrastructure and Mobility, on behalf of the Belgian Presidency, and Thomas Estris, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB).
On this occasion, the Commission reiterated the importance of mobilizing private investment and market penetration for energy efficiency and strengthening cooperation between the various actors to achieve this. This new initiative brings together EU countries, financial institutions and the European Commission at the highest level to develop a long-term and viable financing framework for energy efficiency investments. It is another step towards achieving the goals of EU law, in particular the EU Directives on Energy Efficiency and Energy Performance of Buildings, designed to progress towards the European Green Deal goal of achieving net neutrality by 2050.
The launch was attended by several senior officials, including Deputy Governor of the Hungarian Central Bank, Csaba Kandracsy; Lieser van Ast, Vice Head of the Coalition’s special partner, the UN Environment Finance Initiative; and Alexandra-Jur Schröder, Deputy Director General for the Financial Stability Directorate, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union. Niels Fuglsang and Jutta Paulus, MEPs and Rapporteurs for the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive, delivered video messages. During the event, representatives from the European Banking Federation, Swedbank, the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development discussed the initiative from the perspective of financial institutions.
Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson emphasized:
“The European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition will play a pivotal role in scaling up private investment in energy efficiency. The Coalition will provide the right framework at both European and national level. At European level, experts will work together to develop market-oriented solutions on energy efficiency. At national level, new national “hubs” will be established to identify national needs for energy efficiency investments. In doing so, they will help to deliver important breakthroughs to the market. All this work will only be possible by Member States, financial institutions and the Commission joining forces in a single initiative, the Coalition.”
Next steps
A formal call for financial institutions to join the initiative will be published on the coalition’s webpage shortly.
The European Commission is working with EU countries to set up National Hubs. The different work streams (Plenary, Expert Platform and National Hubs) are due to be launched later this year.
background
On 19 December 2023, at the Energy Council, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson and the Energy Ministers of the 27 EU Member States signed the Joint Declaration on Energy Efficiency Financing and the European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition. The Declaration highlights the importance of building a long-term and viable financing framework for energy efficiency investments, with strong political support from EU countries. Of particular importance is the commitment of the country hubs to take into account the work done so far by the Sustainable Energy Investment Forum and to develop initiatives that address the specific needs of countries regarding energy efficiency financing.
The coalition was announced in the “EU Energy Efficiency” Communication, part of the REPowerEU plan, and aims to respond to calls by European leaders to step up investments in energy efficiency in the European Council conclusions of 20-21 October 2022 and 15 December 2022. The legal basis for the initiative is Article 30(7) of Directive (EU) 2023/1791 (amended) on Energy Efficiency.
The Coalition will work at three different levels: the political level, an expert group and national hubs tasked with identifying energy efficiency financing solutions in each market. The framework is expected to support EU countries and the European Commission in the green transition, narrowing the gap between available public funds and the financing needs for energy efficiency investments and boosting private investment.
This work builds on the work of the Energy Efficiency Finance Initiatives Group (EEFIG), established in 2013 by the European Commission and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). EEFIG served as a joint platform for cooperation and dialogue with financial institutions on energy efficiency and provided the European Commission with concrete studies and recommendations on the way forward for energy efficiency financing. UNEP FI remains a special partner of the Coalition.
