The project aimed to formulate and discuss ideas to further develop EU energy policy frameworks and funds that can enable the clean energy transition in the region of Central and South East Europe.
The project implementation attempted to build upon past achievements in introducing the low-carbon narrative to the region by creating synergies with the Bulgarian and Romanian presidencies of the EU Council and focusing on relevant issues, such as financing energy efficiency in buildings, renewables, and the ETS Modernization Fund. The main tools were a stakeholder workshop and Policy Briefs. The grant has enabled CEPS ECH to continue its efforts to assist the constituency, which advocates regional energy policy cooperation and advancing a more sustainable energy system
Achieving the grant objective placed emphasis on the following topics, events and research outputs:
– Developed two issue-specific Policy Briefs:
o Policy Brief on “Leveraging funding for energy efficiency in buildings in South East Europe”, published on 28 March 2019: https://www.ceps.eu/publications/leveraging-funding-energy-efficiency-buildings-south-east-europe
o Background Paper on “The opportunities of the Modernisation Fund for the energy transition in Central and Eastern Europe”, delivered in the context of the Bucharest Workshop on the Modernisation Fund of 23 January 2019: https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/the-opportunities-of-the-modernisation-fund-for-the-energy-transition-in-central-and-eastern-europe/
o Discussion Paper on “Financing Buildings Renovation Initiative In Central and South Eastern Europe”, presented for stakeholder consultation workshop on 11 June 2018.
– Organised stakeholder meetings:
o Consultative stakeholder workshop
§ CEPS ECH organized a non-public stakeholder consultation workshop on “Financing Buildings Renovation Initiative in Central and South Eastern Europe”. The stakeholder workshop, organized on 11 June 2018 in Brussels, aimed at discussing investment options in building renovation in the region, and the potential role of the CESEC initiative in the clean energy transition in the building renovation sector in C&SEE. The meeting was intended as a non-public preliminary consultation with a small group of stakeholders (14 representatives from financial institutions, the European Commission, energy companies and associations and governmental delegates) to discuss on the topics of:
· effectiveness of financial instruments
· regulatory mechanisms for leveraging public funds for energy efficiency in buildings
· investment scale-up in energy efficiency in buildings
o Stakeholder Workshop in Bucharest, Romania
§ The Bucharest Workshop on the Modernisation Fund was organised on the 23rd of January by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), in collaboration with the Energy Policy Group (EPG) and the Romanian Energy Centre (CRE). The objective of the workshop was to discuss the opportunities that the new Modernisation Fund represents for the transition to low-carbon energy systems in Central and Eastern Europe.
– Speaking engagements:
o April 2018: Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association Conference (part of the official programme of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU), Sofia, Bulgaria;
o April 2018: Regional Workshop organized by Sofia Platform & Ecologic Institute, Sofia, Bulgaria
– Event moderation and other outreach activities:
o May 2018: Romanian Energy Days, Brussels, Belgium
Assisted ECF in its efforts to mobilise the European Union and regional member state decision-makers and stakeholders in favour of regional cooperation for decarbonisation of the economy
