What are the challenges ahead for financing energy efficiency in the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework period?  Which successful examples of financing instruments and partnership models can be promoted to encourage further investment in energy efficiency? Which initiatives need to be supported at the national and EU level to ensure that the potential of energy efficiency is transformed into real long-term economic benefits in the future?  

Following a high-level Workshop on 22nd March 2012 in Brussels where key experts came together to tackle the issue of financing energy efficiency, the Renovate Europe Campaign has issued a series of recommendations (download the Full Recommendations on www.renovate-europe.eu). Amongst the key outcomes put forth, which integrates input from the European Investment Bank and a KfW representative as well as private sector actors, the Renovate Europe Campaign acknowledges the proven macro-economic benefits of investments in energy efficiency on economic growth and makes the following recommendations:

• Member States should consider that the use of Structural Funds for improving energy efficiency in buildings is an investment and not an expenditure

• It is fundamental to maintain the proposed ear-marking of funds aimed at “supporting the shift to a low-carbon economy” in the discussions around the next EU budgetary exercise (2014-2020), and to ensure that a significant amount of such funding support investment in energy efficiency of buildings

• Member States should create good policy and regulatory frameworks to generate market confidence, starting with designing long-term roadmaps for building renovation

• Member States must use a portion of the Structural Funds to create awareness, to build capacity and to provide technical assistance

• Managing Authorities should adopt holistic approaches and promote integrated projects

• Public Authorities should build market confidence and partnerships between public and private actors

• Seed funding should be used to support semi-public entities to encourage investments

• Combining grants and financial instruments is a successful and innovative approach that should be more widely adopted, notably to encourage projects that go to the highest energy performance

• Investing Structural Funds in energy efficient renovation creates social cohesion and serves the general interest 

“There is a need to understand investments in energy efficient renovations of buildings as an investment and not as a spending”, explained Adrian Joyce, Campaign Director of Renovate Europe. “There is also a crucial need to maintain technical assistance programmes and to increasingly demonstrate the benefits of investment in energy efficiency of buildings in order to reinforce the probability of higher investments in the next funding period.  In that respect, the Renovate Europe Campaign plays a crucial role in raising awareness and delivering tangible and economically viable outputs, to ensure that policy-makers are equipped with the necessary tools to make a difference. ”

The Campaign’s aim of raising awareness about the economic benefits of investing in energy efficiency in buildings will culminate with this year’s Renovate Europe Day scheduled on 11 October 2012 in Brussels.

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Note to Editors:

Launched in 2011, the Renovate Europe Campaign is an initiative of EuroACE, the European Alliance of Companies for Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Its headline objective is to reduce the energy demand of Europe’s building stock by 80% by 2050 as compared to 2005 levels. Learn more about the campaign on  www.renovate-europe.eu