All hands-on deck: Mobilizing the EU’s cohesion policy to unlock Europe’s cities and regions’ potential to save energy (Event)

On 29 June 2023, the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) and Regione Lombardia will host a half-day event aimed at building forward-looking partnerships between regions & business on energy efficiency. The event takes place on 29 June, 10:00 – 13:45 CET (including a light lunch). Register here!

Reducing energy need is one of our greatest tools to decarbonize and optimize our energy system to accelerate the integration of renewables, phase out fossil fuels and achieve the EU’s medium (2030) and long term (2050) energy and climate objectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It is also one of our most effective defenses to abate the impact of high energy bills for European households and businesses.

It is in Europe’s cities and regions where much of the necessary climate action can and needs to take place. This is why the at least 30% of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and 37% of the EU’s Cohesion Fund is dedicated to climate action, aligning with 2030 and 2050 energy and climate objectives. Energy efficiency, and achieving at least 30% in improvements, is a key priority for these funds, with significant financial support available to regions and local authorities for efficiency projects in key sectors: from public buildings and social housing to industrial plants and supporting local businesses.

Spent well, the funds will be a powerful lever to stimulate long-term private investment and build a solid skill base in Europe’s regions, but to realize the potential we need all hands on deck.

This half-day event, organised by the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) and hosted by Regione Lombardia, will:

  • Unite Europe’s regions and businesses, along with key representatives from the European Institutions, to look at how the EU’s Cohesion policy can be leveraged to support energy efficiency projects across Europe’s regions. 
  • Provide a platform for regions to share successful experiences and shed light on some of the challenges at regional level. 
  • Enable Europe’s businesses and leading energy efficiency solution providers to demystify some of the technologies available for qualitative and quantitative savings, monitoring and measurement. 
  • Create a positive platform to connect the business community and regional actors and create new long-term partnerships to accelerate Cohesion supported energy efficiency projects at regional level. 

Some confirmed speakers include:

  • Personal video address: Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms
  • Paula Pinho, Director, Directorate-General ENERGY, European Commission
  • Quentin Galland, Group Public & Regulatory Affairs Director, Knauf Insulation
  • Mario Giordano, Head of Public & Government Affairs in Italy; Head of Project Specification, Signify
  • Andrea Voigt, Head of Global Public Affairs, Danfoss  

Register here!

*PLEASE NOTE: We expect interest in this event to be high so to ensure as many organizations can benefit from the exchange, places will be limited to one person per organization. Registrations will be confirmed via email.
The event will not be live-streamed.
Full agenda will be available soon. Stay tuned!

Save the date: Second edition of European Energy Efficiency Day, 12 October 2023 (hybrid)

On 12 October 2023 the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) will host the second edition of the “European Energy Efficiency Day” conference in hybrid format. Register here!

Through a series of five sessions, this high-level conference brings together leading policymakers, business players and civil society organisations. The event is a unique platform to discuss energy efficiency as cost-effective and socially fair decarbonisation solution to achieve the EU Green Deal.

  • Opening Session: 09:30 – 10:10 CET. Energy efficiency – The accelerator for a more sustainable and resilient Europe.
  • Session I: 10:15 – 11:30 CET. Unleashing the power of buildings – new ambitious EU legislation, what next? 
  • Session II: 11:45 – 13:00 CET. Energy system efficiency- empowering citizens and repowering the EU.
  • Session III: 14:15 – 15:30 CET. Long-term solutions for industrial policy – the energy efficiency ecosystem. 
  • Session IV: 15:45 – 17:00 CET. Winning the skills race – Developing the future energy efficiency workforce. 

Register here & join us to draw the future of energy: www.energyefficiencyday.eu

*We still have a few places for sponsors, if you are interested or know companies who could support the event please write to info@euase.eu.

 

Do you want to know more about European Energy Efficiency Day? Find out from our 2022 edition here.
You can watch all 6 recordings here & on the EU-ASE YouTube channel

First edition of “European Energy Efficiency Day” brings together top businesses and policymakers

On 13 October 2022 the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) hosted the first edition of the “European Energy Efficiency Day”, a high-level conference bringing together leading businesses, policymakers and energy experts to explore cost efficient and socially fair decarbonisation paths.

According to the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 report, achieving climate neutrality by 2050 requires to pushing the average average rate of energy efficiency improvements in the period 2020-2030 to about three times the average of the last two decades. The importance of energy efficiency is even more evident in the current context of high energy prices and to significantly reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels as soon as possible.

Improving energy efficiency throughout the EU can be done through massively scaling up energy efficient solutions for buildings, vehicles, home appliances and industry. Solutions and technologies which are all available today.

In this context, the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) launched a new forum to discuss the future of energy and how to decarbonise Europe’s economy through the lenses of energy efficiency, innovation and long-term sustainability.

The European Energy Efficiency Day is a high-level policy conference aimed at exploring cost efficient and socially fair decarbonisation paths to address the energy and climate crisis and deliver the European Green Deal. The first edition of the conference took place on 13 October 2022 as an online event.

Through a series of six sessions throughout the day, the event brought together key EU and national policymakers, leading industry players, as well as experts from the energy and environment community.

Speakers included:

  • Frans Timmermans Executive Vice President for the Green Deal, European Commission
  • Simone Mori Head of Europe, Enel Group
  • Laurence Tubiana CEO, European Climate Foundation
  • David Ducarme Deputy Group CEO & Group COO, Knauf Insulation
  • Monique Goyens Director General, BEUC
  • Oliver Kraft Executive Vice President, Sustainable Communities, Siemens
  • Paula Pinho Director Just Transition, Consumers, Energy Efficiency & Innovation, DG Energy, European Commission
  • Emilio Tenuta Chief Sustainability Officer, Ecolab
  • Maive Rute Deputy Director–General, DG GROW, European Commission
  • Hayati Yarkadas President, Xylem Europe, Water Infrastructure & Global Services
    …and more!

See the full agenda & learn more on energyefficiencyday.eu

You can watch all 6 recordings below & on the EU-ASE YouTube channel

 

Session 1: Energy efficiency and renewables: building Europe’s energy transition together | European Energy Efficiency Day 2022

Session 2: Reaping the benefits of the water-energy nexus | European Energy Efficiency Day 2022

Session 3: Empowering city districts through digitalisation and system integration | European Energy Efficiency Day 2022

Session 4: Making industry “Fit for 55” | European Energy Efficiency Day 2022

Session 5: Energy efficiency: first fuel to drive Europe’s energy sovereignty | European Energy Efficiency Day 2022

Session 6: Energy efficient buildings to improve citizens’ health and wellbeing | European Energy Efficiency Day 2022

Energy System Efficiency for a cost-effective decarbonisation and energy resilience, 28 Sept 2022

On 28 September 2022, 11:30 – 13:00pm (CET) as part of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) with smartEn and E3G, hosted an online conference on energy system efficiency and how this approach contributes to energy transition and to the phase-out of fossil fuels while increasing energy security and creating economic, social and environmental benefits for citizens and businesses.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated an already looming energy price crisis, stressing the urgent need to achieve a more efficient and decarbonised energy system. This requires the application of the Energy Efficiency First principle at the system level with consumers at its heart.

By significantly reducing energy demand and better integrating system efficiency solutions relying on the active contribution of consumers, the energy system can be transformed to ensure that we reduce our energy consumption and satisfy our energy needs with renewables at the best time, in the right way. This will ensure the optimisation of the system and accelerate the efficient integration of renewables.

The focus of this session is to discuss and demonstrate, through the contribution of concrete examples, how an energy system efficiency approach can contribute to energy transition and to the phase-out of fossil fuels while increasing energy security and creating economic, social, and environmental benefits for citizens and businesses.

Confirmed speakers include:

  • Moderator: Monica Frassoni, President, European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE)
  • Niels Fuglsang, Rapporteur of the Energy Efficiency Directive recast, Member of the European Parliament
  • Dirk Kaisers, Segment Leader Distributed Energy Management EMEA, Eaton
  • Adeline Rochet, Senior Policy Adviser, E3G
  • Michael Villa, Executive Director, smartEn
  • Hans van Steen, Principal Adviser in DG Energy, European Commission

Recording of the event available here & starts at 2:35:09

More information here.

A legislative framework supportive of the water-energy nexus: exploiting synergies between water & energy savings, 22 Sept 2022

On 22 September 2022, 12:00 – 13:30pm (CET) as part of the Extended Programme of European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) hosted an online conference on the water-energy nexus to discuss how to design the best policy framework across the EED, UWWTD and IED.

The strong interdependencies that exist between energy and water are no longer to be demonstrated. Abstracting, distributing, heating, cooling or treating water requires huge amounts of energy while water is also used heavily in energy production and across many industrial processes.

The ongoing policy developments to unleash the potential of the water-energy nexus show progress is in the making but requires strong alignment between energy and water legislations. The panel will discuss how to ensure coherence across the EED, UWWTD and IED.

Moderator:

  • Agnese Danelon, Director, Government Relations Europe, Ecolab

Speakers:

  • Vania Paccagnan, Senior Global Policy Manager, Water at CDP Europe
  • Veronica Manfredi, DG ENVI, European Commission
  • AbdelKader Meroufel, WE Water Distribution infrastructure & Energy WG leader, Water Europe
  • Tania Pentcheva, Senior Government and Industry Relations, Xylem
  • Monica Frassoni, President, European Alliance to Save Energy

Watch the full session here

View full agenda here