| Author (Corporate) | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Series Title | COM |
| Series Details | (2015) 572 final (18.11.15) |
| Publication Date | 18/11/2015 |
| Content Type | Policy-making, Report |
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The European Commission's "Framework Strategy for a Resilient Energy Union with a Forward-Looking Climate Change Policy" has created a new momentum to bring about the transition to a low-carbon, secure and competitive economy. To keep this momentum, this first "State of the Energy Union" looks at progress over the last nine months and identifies key issues that require specific political attention in 2016, a key year for implementation of the Energy Union. On 30 November 2015, world leaders will gather in Paris to agree how to tackle one of mankind’s greatest challenges: climate change. The State of the Energy Union highlights Europe’s contribution to the Paris negotiations and focuses on the follow-up. Europe’s leadership in the transition to a low-carbon economy needs to continue after Paris, both through the implementation of the 2030 climate and energy targets and a coherent energy and climate diplomacy, ensuring that all countries follow-up on their commitments. There is a strong business case for this transition. Leading European companies are changing their business models. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are creating jobs in Europe, requiring new skills and investments. Many of the changes linked to this transition will take place in cities and municipalities; when our cities become smarter, they become key enablers of the EU’s sustainable energy policies. The electricity and gas markets are still not performing as they should. For the transition towards a low-carbon economy and society to be successful and socially fair, citizens should take more ownership, benefit from new technologies and more competition to reduce their bills, and participate more actively in the market. In 2015, geopolitical events in our immediate vicinity kept energy high on the agenda. To deal with these challenges, energy security, efficiency, infrastructure development, the completion of the internal energy market and sustainability are intrinsically linked. The 2nd list of Projects of Common Interest sets out the infrastructure projects which are urgently needed to meet our energy policy targets and objectives. The State of the Energy Union presents key building blocks for an implementation mechanism leading to more predictable, transparent and stable policies. The guidance on integrated national energy and climate plans provides the basis for Member States to start developing their integrated national energy and climate plans for the period from 2021 to 2030. The proposed methodology on key indicators is the first step towards measuring and monitoring the delivery of the Energy Union. In recent months, the Commission has visited many Member States to discuss the Energy Union with a wide range of stakeholders. In addition, technical discussions have taken place with all Member States. These contacts have enabled the Commission to produce an Energy Union assessment for each Member State and to identify policy conclusions for all five dimensions of the Energy Union. The first State of the Energy Union report shows that much progress has already been made since the adoption of the Energy Union Framework Strategy in February 2015. Still much remains to be done, and 2016 will be an important year of delivery. |
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| Source Link | http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2015:572:FIN |
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| Subject Categories | Energy |
| Countries / Regions | Europe |
