Ahead of the European Council on 18-19 June 2026, Energy Cities has joined a broad coalition of signatories in calling on European leaders to seize this moment and make it Europe’s last fossil fuel crisis.
In this letter, a coalition of unions, consumer groups, clean energy industry players, civil society groups and academia argue that Europe’s economic security, industrial competitiveness, and resilience to price shocks cannot be guaranteed while the continent remains structurally tied to imported fossil fuels.
Europe has the technologies, the public support, industrial knowhow, and the policy tools to lead this transformation. What is needed now is the political resolve to deliver it.
The signatories urge EU institutions and national governments to act across four priorities: accelerating electrification and industrial modernisation; providing long-term regulatory certainty for clean energy investment; establishing a strategic framework for fossil fuel independence; and mobilising public and private finance at the scale the challenge demands.
These demands align with Energy Cities’ vision of a fossil-free future, where cities are empowered through local ownership and democratic decision-making over energy systems. This vision calls for a clean, stable, and socially just energy future for Europe.
Municipalities play a central role in making it a reality by planning for the future, harnessing renewable and sustainable heat sources, and managing local energy grids to balance supply and demand effectively.
Our campaign #MakingHeatSafe spotlights how local authorities are phasing out gas from their heating system while the #HomegrownEnergy campaign is demonstrating local leadership transforming energy systems locally.