FEDARENE responds to the Energy Efficiency Directive Review Consultation

While progress has been made in raising energy efficiency on the policy agenda of national governments and setting ambitious targets, the energy efficiency markets did not develop uniformly across Europe. Barriers and market failures remain, requiring intensified market facilitation that focuses on 3 actions:

• activation (informing the multiple target groups of their energy efficiency options and value);
• support to project development (coaching during decision-making with technical and financial advice, feasibility studies, best practice transposition);
• support to project implementation (financial, legal and technical assistance, and post-project evaluation and monitoring).

Reaching the 2030 climate goals requires a policy step-change recognizing the drivers and failures of the past decade’s approaches. Market facilitation performed by independent market intermediaries with public mandates such as local and regional energy agencies is an important driver behind the enforcement of the EED. Embedding the energy agency facilitation model in the Energy Efficiency Directive will maximise the impact of its provisions. This legal recognition would acknowledge the reality of this driver for energy efficiency, sending a signal to the Member States to support the upscaling and replication of this facilitation model. This facilitation model has already leveraged significant large scale investments, evidenced by results from the ManagEnergy service.

Unless this facilitation model is recognised, and resourced, ambitious concepts/investments at the local and regional levels will not be translated into realised energy and carbon savings. The International Energy Agency has been documenting the “role of energy efficiency in COVID-19 Stimulus Packages” and how focusing investments in this sector may lead to quick economic recovery and long-lasting benefits. Local and regional energy agencies may attest to this impact, as they are key players in the design and implementation of renovation programmes and related financing schemes.

FEDARENE, therefore, welcomes the Commission’s intention to strengthen the EED making it fit to stimulate Europe’s economic recovery and reach EU’s 2030 Climate objectives.