On Tuesday 20 April 2023, EU-ASE President Monica Frassoni participated in the Future of the Energy Union: Looking beyond the crisis, organised by Cabinet Kadri Simson.

Commissioner for energy, Kadri Simson, hosted this high-level conference on the future of the Energy Union, drawing lessons from the energy crisis and reflecting on the way forward for EU energy policy.

The aim of the event was to exchange on a future design of the governance of the Energy Union and the preparation of energy related elements in the upcoming updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). It was an occasion to take stock of the lessons learned from the energy crisis and to discuss how the increased need for energy security, a resilient EU energy system and ambitious energy targets can be reflected in the governance mechanism and the NECPs.

EU-ASE President Monica Frassoni highlighted the need for an energy system that is highly energy and resource efficient, based on renewables, that is secure, competitive, affordable and safe. A system that is able to respond to the climate, energy and water crisis that perturb our economy and create social unrest.

Overall, energy efficiency is one of our greatest tools to decarbonize our global economy and optimize our energy system, however we choose to design that system in the future.

We call member states to take energy efficiency in high consideration when preparing NECPs due by June 2023.

Thank you to Cabinet Simson for organising this timely initiative.

Find more information about the Future of the Energy Union: Looking beyond the crisis.

On Tuesday 31 January, EU-ASE Policy and Advocacy Advisor Matteo Guidi spoke at the second webinar of the new cycle of the Legambiente and Kyoto Club’s “For decarbonisation: energy efficiency and heating in buildings in Italy” awareness campaign.

The webinar titled: EU updates and the EPBD and EED directives aims to build on a campaign to stop the spread of residential heating systems powered by fossil fuels and to raise awareness among the public, companies and public decision-makers by proposing amendment proposals to current Italian and European legislation.

Speakers included:

• Matteo Guidi, Policy and Advocacy Advisor – European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE)
• Davide Sabbadin, Deputy Policy Manager for Climate – European Environmentale Bureau
• Eva Brardinelli, Buildings Policy Coordinator – Climate Action Network Europe
• Marco Grippa, Program Manager – Environmental Coalition on Standards
• Introduction and moderation: Clementina Taliento, Kyoto Club

View more information about the webinar and campaign here.

On Wednesday 30 November 2022, EU-ASE President Monica Frassoni spoke at an event by ERCST titled: The transition plans – beyond sustainable finance?

 The idea of presenting a transition plan – i.e., ensuring that the business model and strategy of the undertaking are compatible with the transition to a sustainable economy and with the limiting of global warming to 1.5 °C, in line with the Paris Agreement – will soon turn into a concrete legal obligation. It is mandated by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and contemplated in other pieces of European sustainable finance legislation: the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the EU Green Bonds Standard. But this kind of requirement expands beyond the sustainable finance realm. For example, the European Parliament wants to reduce the amount of ETS free allocations for companies not having a decarbonisation plan or failing to meet their milestones.

However, it remains unclear how to turn those very forward-looking and complex commitments into real change by individual companies throughout the various business models.

The event aims at identifying the objective, scope, and challenges in addressing the requirement of presenting transition plans in and beyond the EU corporate sustainability framework.

Hosted by the European Roundable on Climate Change and Sustainable Development (ERCST), this hybrid event took plance online and in person.

View the full agenda here.
View the full ERCST presentation here.

Find more information about the event here.

On Thursday 24 November 2022, EU-ASE participated in “Powering our buildings: how policies can support energy efficiency through building electrification”.

EU-ASE President Monica Frassoni spoke at the launch of a new study by FIRE Federazione Italiana per l’uso Razionale dell’Energia and the Institute for European Energy and Climate Policy Foundation (IEECP), discussing the challenges we face to electrify, decarbonise and strengthen the EU energy system.

View the full agenda here.

Find more information about the study here.