Brussels, 22 April 2024
Ladies and Gentlemen, good morning,
Welcome everybody!
At COP28 last December, 125 countries committed themselves to the Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledges. Since then it has increased to 136. And when we met shortly after with the EU27 Energy Ministers, we signed the Joint Declaration on Energy Efficiency Financing.
With this in mind, I’m delighted to be here today to launch the new European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition! This is an important moment. We’re all aware of the need to unlock private investment for energy efficiency improvements.
This Coalition establishes a new cooperation framework to do just that. It brings together Member States, Financial Institutions, and the European Commission’s services to think, plan and execute together on energy efficiency financing.
Its mission is important. We only have six years to go until 2030. That’s 6 years to meet our energy efficiency targets. 6 years to ensure that we are on the path to climate neutrality. If we don’t ramp up investment now, we will fall behind from the start.
We’re not starting from scratch. The Coalition is the culmination of a lot of work and a vision. It was announced by the Commission as a part of the EU ‘Save Energy’ Communication together with the REPowerEU plan.
Energy savings is one of the main pillars of the REPowerEU plan. It’s the quickest and cheapest way to tackle fossil fuel dependency and reduce energy bills for consumers. The Coalition can help bring to life commitments made under the Green Deal and REPower EU.
It’s a concrete deliverable of the Energy Efficiency Directive Recast, which entered into force last October.
Dear colleagues and partners,
We absolutely need to find solutions to bridge the financing gap on energy efficiency. Continuous energy efficiency improvement requires vast investments – think of the EU’s building stock or heating and cooling supply. Without proper financing, we risk jeopardising the EU’s 2030 targets and our road to carbon neutrality by 2050.
Public funding is of course key. But it is not enough on its own. Alongside the right policies, it can help to de-risk and mobilise private investment and encourage market uptake.
We need cooperation at European level, with experts from across the Union working collaboratively to develop solutions for the energy efficiency market. We also need cooperation at national level.
This requires creating specific results-oriented teams, or national hubs, which will deliver concrete solutions for finance tailored to different markets. We can make this happen with Member States, Financial Institutions and the Commission, all working together in the same direction.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As I look around the room, I am confident that this Coalition will be a success and achieve what it has set out to do. Let me thank the Belgian Presidency – represented here today by Vice-President Henry from the Government of Wallonia – for its support on this initiative.
Let me also thank EIB Vice-President Östros. The EIB is a strategic partner of the European Commission. A partner we count on for implementing many projects related to energy efficiency. And we’ll be counting on it again for its know-how and experience as part of this Coalition.
I should also mention the many investors, regulators, and representatives of financial institutions here today. Your input, perspectives and ideas will be fundamental in shaping the Coalition’s work in the months to come and I look forward to hearing all your good suggestions.
A final word on the very knowledgeable support United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) has been providing – and will continue to provide – to the Coalition.
You are a privileged partner in this initiative. I’m very pleased that we can build on our earlier joint work on the Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group, and that we can count on you in this Coalition.
To conclude,
There has never been such global momentum to make progress on energy efficiency. Europe will play its part. The launch of today’s Coalition is just the beginning. Together we will find solutions to deliver the financing we need for energy efficiency improvements.Together we will achieve cleaner industries, thriving economies and healthier societies.
So without further ado, let me congratulate you all for today’s launch of the new European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition!
Thank you.