Publications on energy savings on the ground

This financing guide aims at providing orientation and an overview over the many opportunities on how to finance the development of citizen-led renovation programmes.

The political context for citizen-led renovation has changed over the last two years since the start of the project. These are the key elements providing new opportunities:

• In 2020 the EU Climate Law establishes new climate targets, climate neutrality by 2050 and 55% greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2030.
• The Fit for 55 package includes several provisions that aim at an increase of energy renovations of the existing buildings stock.
  In particular, the proposed EED recast increase the energy efficiency target ambition level and strengthens target governance. Buildings will play an important role to achieve these goals. For a first time, the Commission proposal acknowledges the role of energy communities in the legal provisions.
  Furthermore, the Fit for 55 package proposes a new ETS for the buildings and transport sector which would be linked to a new Social Climate Fund to manage negative social impacts of higher energy prices.
• The 2021-2027 EU budget foresees several instruments that can be used to finance the renovation wave. At least 30 per cent of both Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and Next Generation EU (NGEU), or 547 bn Euro, must be spent for climate purposes.
• Cohesion and structural funds already applied climate action earmarking during the last budget period. This has been strengthened in the new MFF 2021-2027 and was extended to all regions, including high GDP ones.
• The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility was put in place in order to help the EU to emerge stronger and more resilient from the current crisis. 37% of the funds are ringfenced for climate investment. The Renovation Wave is one of the components that Member States are encouraged to address in their Recovery and Resilience Plans.
• The Commission launched a Just Transition Mechanism as part of the European Green Deal with the Just Transition Fund as an instrument to support the territories most affected by the transition towards climate neutrality.
• The EU supports the energy transition now via the LIFE programme for the environment and climate action. The first call of its subprogramme LIFE Clean Energy Transition was launched in July 2021. It includes several topics that can be used by citizen-led initiatives on energy renovations.
• The European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) has launched a so-called Pilot Project for a “Support service for citizens-led renovation projects”. The publication of the tender is expected later this year.
• The EIB’s ELENA tool continues to cover project development costs for sustainable energy investment programmes.

This document is part of the project ‘Citizen-led Renovation’ by Stefan Scheuer Consulting and REScoop.eu, financed by the European Climate Foundation.

The project aims to develop an innovative approach building upon existing activities by renewables cooperatives. It started in 2019 as a cooperation between REScoop.eu and Stefan Scheuer Consultancy, financed by the European Climate Foundation. REScoop.eu is reviewing the experience of mature retrofitting programmes run by their member organisations in order to encourage the replication of such programmes. Stefan Scheuer Consulting is analysing the policy development at EU level in order to identify ways to improve the policy framework and financial support for citizen-led renovation.

Almut Bonhage: A financing guide for Citizen-led Renovation, October 2021

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Citizen-led Renovation aims to boost the demand for residential energy renovations by mobilising citizen participation, a concept developed by REScoop.eu and Stefan Scheuer Consulting.

This “Roadmap on how to develop Citizen-led Renovation as driver for the renovation wave” was established on the basis of REScoop.eu Building renovation working group findings, documented in the “Report on barriers and drivers to the deployment of Citizen-led Renovation mechanisms” finalised in April 2020.

Authors:
Almut Bonhage, Stefan Scheuer Consulting

With the support of:
Stefan Scheuer, The Coalition for Energy Savings
Stanislas d’Herbemont, REScoop.eu
Bastiaan de Jong, European Climate Foundation

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Several studies have shown that energy and carbon taxes play an important role in many Member States for meeting their energy savings obligation in the 2014-2020 period. Often, those taxes were introduced decades ago and have not been updated since. Nevertheless, their impacts are claimed to be significant.

A new study conducted by the Regulatory Assistance Project and Stefan Scheuer Consulting assesses the use of taxation in order to meet energy savings obligation (Article 7, Energy Efficiency Directive) over the first four-year period (2014-2017) in all 28 Member States. What would happen if all countries freely credited all energy taxes as energy savings, regardless their real impact? The study concludes that this would render the article 7 meaningless. On paper, it could wipe out the need for any new energy efficiency policy. But on the ground, energy use would continue to increase.

The revised Energy Efficiency Directive contains important safeguards which are set out in the study. Legislators have added new requirements to ensure that tax measures are indeed delivering new and additional energy savings. Applied correctly, this will reinforce the real contribution of the Directive to meet the EU’s 2020 and 2030 energy savings targets.

Authors:
Jan Rosenow, Principal & European Programme Director, The Regulatory Assistance Project
Stefan Scheuer, Director, Stefan Scheuer Consulting

The work has been enabled by support from the European Climate Foundation to the Regulatory Assistance Project for chapter 2 and 5 and from Rockwool S/A for Stefan Scheuer consulting to conduct the research for chapter 4.

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The EU’s new Governance rules for climate and energy policies from 2018 raised expectations for a better and more integrated energy planning, but had little impact so far.

Rushed national consultations, ineffective energy efficiency measures and inconsistent EU funding programming are the key findings from our country assessments. This report also explores the impacts of the new Governance framework on national energy planning and policy making, and is aimed at supporting the next steps towards finalising the NECPs.

It is based on interviews with stakeholders at national level in eight Member States and is the second part of the study published in April 2019 “Energy Efficiency First – from a policy win to sound plans”.

Study by Ioana Bere, Marion Santini and Stefan Scheuer (Stefan Scheuer Consulting)
Commissioned by European Climate Foundation

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With the Energy Union Governance, Member States are required to use a common analytical basis to set their energy targets and measures, and present everything in one single document – the integrated national energy and climate plan (NECP). In this process, they shall take into account the interlinkages between the five dimensions of the Energy Union, in particular the energy efficiency first principle.

This principle is further defined: Member States shall consider alternative cost-efficient energy efficiency measures which would allow achieving the objectives of the concerned energy planning, policy and investment decisions/measures by replacing them in whole or in part.

This paper further elaborates on the history and the benefits of this approach. It also presents a review of 10 draft NECPs submitted by Member States to the Commission (see list in Annex I), with the aim to assess how the energy efficiency first principle was taken into account.

Study by Marion Santini with contributions from Ioana Bere and Stefan Scheuer (Stefan Scheuer Consulting)
Commissioned by European Climate Foundation

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Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive requires Member States to put in place energy efficiency measures to deliver annual end-use energy savings worth 1.5% of energy sales starting in 2014.

This report looks at the total savings reported by Member States in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 and compares those to the notified Article 7 savings targets.

Stefan Scheuer, 2018, Energy savings under Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive – Assessment of national progress reports and positions

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Heinrich Boell Foundation in cooperation with the Green European Foundation, European Renewable Energies Federation and Le Monde Diplomatique publishes the European Energy Atlas 2018.

EU Member States are discussing their energy and climate strategy until 2030. Are these measures currently being negotiated in Europe enough?

The European Energy Atlas provides a compass on the different energy discussions in different Member States but also reveals how a Europeanization of the energy transition will be the more efficient and cost-effective option for all Europeans.

Stefan Scheuer and Marion Santini contributed to the chapter on energy efficiency. Learn more about the project here.

Heinrich Boell Foundation, 2018, Energy Atlas 2018: Figures and Facts about Renewables in Europe

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The Paris Climate Agreement’s entry into force has clearly not yet spurred policymakers to charge toward the goal of limiting climate change to “well below 2°C” and targeting 1.5°C, warn Dr. Jan Rosenow and Stefan Scheuer. Energy efficiency remains the key to success. A new study by the Regulatory Assistance Project, Oeko-Institut, and Stefan Scheuer Consulting shows that energy efficiency is critical for achieving the carbon reduction goals set out in the Paris Agreement.

Study by: Dr Jan Rosenow (Regulatory Assistance Project), Jakob Graichen (Öko-Institut), Stefan Scheuer (Stefan Scheuer Consulting)

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The Energy Efficiency Directive sets a requirement for Member States to put in place policies and measures to deliver each year from 2014-2020 new end-use energy savings worth 1.5% of energy sales (Article 7).

This report aims to assess and map national progress towards the Article 7 target.

It looks at the cumulative savings reported in 2014-2015 and compares them with the Article 7 targets notified by Member States.

Eero Purontaus, Stefan Scheuer, 2017. Energy savings under Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive – Assessment of national progress reports and positions

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Impacts of loopholes, lack of clarity and weak implementation on the delivery of energy savings under Article 7 of the Energy Efficiency Directive

Study by: Stefan Scheuer, Frances Bean
Commissioned by: Climate Action Network Europe

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