‘La Rentrée’ 2020 with COVID-19

Strasbourg has been added to the ‘Red Zone’ list for coronavirus infections calling into question the upcoming plenary session of the European Parliament where EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had been scheduled to give her first ‘State of the Union’ address on Sept. 16^th.

It’s just the latest example of how coronavirus has disrupted business as usual in EU affairs. That said, the schedule of milestones and events between now and the end of 2020 remains ambitious.

Here are some of the main events Energy Cities will be watching:

Of course, the Energy Cities General Assembly is on Sept. 17th. If you would like to attend online you must register first. Simply click here!

National Energy and Climate Plans (NECP) are due to be assessed by the EU Commission in September or October 2020.

The Renovation Wave initiative – The centrepiece of the Green Deal in many ways. This is expected in mid- to late- October. Energy Cities has been very vocal on the need for a district-level approach and special recognition for condominiums.

But, the upcoming discussions on the EU’s 2030 emissions targets with a revision to 50% “and towards 55%” may mean that some of those NECPs need to be adjusted.

The Renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy – Aims to foster investment in sustainable projects, largely through the InvestEU programme. Due in the last quarter of 2020 (delayed from Q3).

The European Climate Pact – A proposal is due in the last quarter of 2020. We outlined out thoughts here.

We will also continue to monitor national resilience and recovery plans as they emerge in the coming month or two. These plans have a shorter timeline than the EU plans targeting the 2021-2023 period. France and Germany have already announced €100 billion plus plans.

Finally, there are a number of events online to help cities in their energy transition. Be sure to check out https://energy-cities.eu/events/ and see what appeals to you.