Clean Energy for All Europeans: A call for making it happen now

Following the EU’s rapid ratification of the Paris Agreement, the Commission announced the comprehensive Clean Energy for all Europeans package in November 2016. Orgalime views this initiative not only as an essential step towards modernising Europe’s energy and economy – but also as an important springboard for generating innovative jobs and growth across the EU.

As the legislative process begins, we have put together a detailed set of recommendations for how best to ensure the Clean Energy proposals deliver on their potential. The top priority must be to preserve the overall coherence and consistency of the package. As many of the issues involved are interlinked and mutually dependent, Orgalime calls on the institutions to ensure the hand-in-hand evolution of the legislative files. And we also stress the need to respect the spirit of the package during national transposition and implementation.

Today’s energy landscape is changing rapidly and fundamentally – driven by developments such as digitisation, the ongoing decarbonisation of the economy and the increasing decentralisation of energy generation. To ensure Europe leads the way in this transition, we are calling on policy makers to support a timely and ambitious final Energy Package based on four central pillars: implementing the no-regrets-options of ‘more renewables, more energy efficiency and smart, flexible distribution grids’; boosting the full potential of digitisation and empowering consumers; focusing on ‘energy efficiency first’, particularly in areas such as buildings; and establishing a governance framework to link Member-State and EU-level actions.

Download our position paper to read Orgalime’s in-depth recommendations on the key aspects of the Clean Energy package.