Policy News
Analysis and opinion pieces on EU and national policies that matter for the energy transition.
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Drinking from a firehose
The success of the EU’s Green Deal and national recovery plans hinge on cities – but they are not at the table
Look out your window and make a mental note of what you see: a road, footpath, parked cars, maybe a park, trees, a rubbish bin, […]
Renovation Wave will have a big impact on cities
Mandatory renovations for city-owned buildings and numerous lobbying wins makes for ambitious proposal
The Renovation Wave proposal from the European Commission landed on Oct. 14th and cities, for better or worse, will be most impacted. There are some […]
Do the final National Energy and Climate Plans finally acknowledge cities’ key role?
New Energy Cities report reveals persistent lack of recognition towards local action by many EU countries
With all EU Member States having submitted their final national energy and climate plans (NECPs), Energy Cities has explored whether EU countries have improved in acknowledging the key role of local authorities, compared to their draft NECPs.
The European Climate Law: is it enough to get to climate neutrality?
Learn about the latest developments in EU policy in Energy Cities' What's EUp? - October 2020
It is the legal backbone of the EU’s bid to become climate-neutral by 2050. The European Climate Law is supposed to enshrine and mainstream the 2050 climate neutrality objective into European legislation. For the Commission, the success of the Climate Law will make or break the ambitions of the Green Deal put forward by President Ursula von der Leyen. As the EU institutions are about to hash out the final details of the Climate Law, Energy Cities analyzes whether this first-of-a-kind European legislation is sufficient to get the EU to climate neutrality by mid-century.
Europe’s new 2030 target
What it means for cities and how we get there
The European Commission has formally proposed a target of 55% fewer GHG emissions by 2030, a substantial increase from the previous target of 40%. It […]
How to Access EU and Member State Recovery Funds
Cities need concrete projects to access the more than €1 trillion available
Between the EU’s recovery package and the recent stimulus packages announced by Germany, France, Portugal, Austria and Denmark there is more than €1 trillion to […]
Your brief guide to the 7 EU programmes funding the energy transition in cities
The programmes, the amounts and their focus
The EU has a number of funding sources available to cities. They have their own focus, operational guidelines and requirements. This is a brief rundown […]
EU’s Recovery Package garners praise, but what’s in it?
An unprecedented spending package passes its first step, still needs further approvals
The Economist, famous for its reserved language, called the EU’s new budget and accompanying recovery package a ‘landmark event’. Not to be outdone, the Dalai […]
The EU Commission’s Hydrogen Prescription for System Integration
New strategies launched pushing energy efficiency and targeting sectors difficult to decarbonise
The European Commission’s new hydrogen strategy and energy system integration strategy have been launched. The two strategies work together. The hydrogen strategy is about developing […]
Designing a mobility strategy for energy
A plain English guide to Smart Sector Integration
What’s the first thing you do when developing a mobility plan for a city? You look at a map. Lots of maps, ideally. You look […]
