Securing Energy Efficiency to Secure the Energy Union: How Energy Efficiency meets the EU Climate and Energy Goals

In line with the Energy Union strategy, the EU 2030 climate and energy policy framework sees energy saving as Europe’s first fuel in 2030. Making energy efficiency the mechanism for delivering moderation of demand will enable the EU to meet its objectives in terms of security of supply, climate change, jobs, growth and competitiveness. The decarbonisation of the EU energy system is under way. Energy-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fell by 19% between 1990 and 2013. The power generation and energy-intensive industries covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) are responsible for 45 % of total EU GHG emissions and for 23 % of the emissions reduction achieved between 2005 and 2013. The end-use sectors, such as buildings and transport, covered by the Effort-Sharing Decision (ESD) contributed 13 % of emissions reduction over the same period. Emissions reduction in the EU is a result of economic restructuring, the economic crisis and the EU 2020 climate and energy policy package. With the post-2020 climate and policy package, the Energy Union is seeking to develop a more reliable and transparent governance system. Reporting on progress towards climate and energy targets will be streamlined through integrated national energy and climate plans. Indicators will be developed to ensure consistency and better interaction between the various climate and energy policy instruments. For decarbonisation to be made cost-neutral, a strong signal is required from the 2015 Paris Climate Summit (COP21) – giving a value to the carbon saved by pricing GHG emissions, so that energy saving become the niche fuel for investors. At EU level, a framework for “De-risking Energy Efficiency Investments (DEEI)” is needed to ensure that energy saving compete on equal terms with generation capacity. The framework should include setting-up guarantees for loans related to energy efficiency investments; this would lower capital cost by reducing investors’ perceived risk. Cost/benefit analysis of energy efficiency investments should consider using “Levelised Cost of Conserved Energy (LCCE)”, as a financial metric given that this metric allows for risk and basic rate components to be separated. The aim is to make mitigation of the risk premium related to energy efficiency investments possible via the DEEI framework.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

Guidebook How to develop a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) in South Mediterranean Cities

This guidebook is adapted to the South Mediterranean context from the Joint Research Centre’s (JRC) guidebook "How to develop a Sustainable Energy Action Plan", developed in 2010 to support the implementation of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) initiative in European cities. Through the CES-MED project, the European Union has opened the CoM initiative to local authorities of ten southern Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia). The purpose of this guidebook is to make energy efficiency and climate change mitigation measures relevant, achievable and compelling to local authorities in the southern Mediterranean context. Ultimately, it aims to enhance the competitiveness of municipalities and ensure their economic development while reducing dependence on energy imports and fossil fuels through the implementation of energy efficiency, renewable energy and other well-planned climate change mitigation actions at the local level. The guidebook provides detailed, step-by-step guidance to local authorities in southern Mediterranean countries to develop an effective Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). The process has four phases: initiation, planning, implementation, and monitoring and reporting. The choice and sequence of actions can vary according to the policies and measures already in place. This flexibility allows local authorities to develop a SEAP coherent with and effective for their local circumstances and objectives.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

Energieforschung am JRC der EU-Kommission

Energy research at the JRC includes a number of diverse activities which all provide support to the policy making process of the European Commission. Concrete examples are world class laboratories, the knowledge centre for energy efficiency (KCEE), the development of models and the support to the European SET-plan.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo

From nearly-zero energy buildings to net-zero energy districts

The implementation of the EU 2020 energy and climate targets triggered the transformation of Europe’s neighbourhoods to net-zero energy districts (NZED). The Report review and analyses the cases of frontrunner municipalities In Europe. They set ambitious targets to reduce their energy demand and to increase the share of their energy supply from local renewable energy sources. These targets are set in different ways and the timeline to meet the agreed target at a local level varies from one municipality to another. Hvar, a remote Croatian Island, as well as the municipality of Val-de-Ruz, in Switzerland, have set a target to be self-sufficient. However, the former aims at meeting its self-sufficiency target to be 20% by 2020 while the latter aims to be totally self-sufficient by 2030. Similarly, the municipality of Helsingor in Denmark aims for carbon neutrality by 2050 while Cloughjordan in Ireland aimed at building an eco-village in a rural area. Other municipalities such as Salzburg in Austria developed a 2050 smart city roadmap while Valby in Denmark set a renewable energy target and the municipality of Zaragoza in Spain developed and implemented a holistic bioclimatic design at neighbourhood level. Other important features of the seven districts analysed in this report are the emergence of new actors and the innovative governance structures set by municipalities to ensure all necessary actors are involved, and the use of modern technologies (such as smart meters, smart communication tools, social media platform, 3D-Scanning and Building Information Models – BIM). In all the cases analysed, public finance (EU and national) has been instrumental in unleashing the transition to net-zero energy districts.JRC.C.2-Energy Efficiency and Renewable

The Covenant of Mayors in Figures and Performance Indicators: 6-Year Assessment

The main purpose of this scientific report is to provide an assessment of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) Initiative 6 years after it has been initiated by the European Commission. By implementing the CoM Initiative, the European Commission has given visibility to the role of local authorities and their relevant contribution to EU2020 Climate and Energy targets. This is the second assessment report in a series of CoM assessment reports published by JRC. As of mid-May 2014 5,296 local authorities signed the Covenant of Mayors (CoM), for a total of ca. 160 million inhabitants in the EU-28, and ca. 186 million inhabitants in the whole initiative. Based on the data collected from Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) submitted by CoM Signatories as of mid-May 2014, a statistical methodology has been developed to select a CoM data set for evaluating the real impact of the CoM initiative. The report provides main statistics of the data set in terms of GHG emission and estimated reductions, Final energy consumptions and estimated energy savings and clean energy production in the local authorities. Ultimately, the report aims to emphasize the feature of SEAPs as a flexible common platform for achieving EU Climate and Energy targets with a bottom-up approach.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

Innovations for Sustainability: Pathways to an efficient and post-pandemic future

3rd Report prepared by The World in 2050 initiativ