European Federation of Agencies and Regions for Energy and Environment
FEDARENE
FEDARENE was created on the 6th of June 1990 by 6 regional authorities: Rhônes-Alpes, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, Wallonie, Pais Vasco, Aquitaine, and Nord-Pas-De-Calais.
ID: 783560953250-07
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Pierre Schellekens (Director Energy)
20 Jan 2026 · Energy Union Governance
Response to Roadmap for artificial intelligence and digitalisation for energy (RAID-E)
5 Nov 2025
FEDARENE, the European Federation of Regions and Energy Agencies for energy and the environment, welcomes the European Commissions initiative to develop a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in the energy sector. As trusted, not-for-profit public actors working closely with local and regional authorities, energy agencies are key enablers of digital solutions that support planning, energy monitoring, flexibility services, and data-driven decision making across territories. They help authorities access and interpret reliable energy data, provide tailored insights for planning, and support behavioural change and efficient investments in the grid and demand-side management. However, they face significant systemic barriers that must be addressed in the Strategic Roadmap to ensure that investments in AI and digitalisation accelerate fairly and effectively across Europe. Attached you will find the full contribution of FEDARENE.
Read full responseMeeting with Anne Katherina Weidenbach (Cabinet of Commissioner Dan Jørgensen) and REScoop.eu vzw and
8 Oct 2025 · Citizens Energy Package
Meeting with Margareta Djordjevic (Head of Unit Energy)
7 Oct 2025 · Presentation of FEDARENE
Meeting with Beatriz Yordi (Director Climate Action) and Eurocities and
29 Sept 2025 · ETS2 & Social Climate Fund Implementation, Communication Efforts and Best Practices
Meeting with Rosalinde Van Der Vlies (Director Energy)
16 Sept 2025 · Introductory meeting FEDARENE / ENER.B
Response to European climate resilience and risk management law
3 Sept 2025
FEDARENE welcomes the European Climate Resilience and Risk Management Initiative and its related call for evidence. A comprehensive framework and plan for action is indeed needed to upscale climate adaptation efforts and enhance climate change preparedness to improve societal resilience and security. However, for years, governance models, financing schemes, community engagement and reporting processes have been developed for climate change mitigation. In view of consistency and efficiency, we should avoid building an additional and parallel sector. We advocate for a climate resilience and risk management framework embedded in existing frameworks, addressing multiple risks and acknowledging the different contexts, vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities by adopting differentiated approaches. In terms of governance, regional and local levels shouldnt be overlooked. Extreme weather events are experienced locally where climate risks, hazards, and vulnerability are apparent. LRAs core duties are directly affected as they hold competencies in key adaptation areas such as housing, transport, and territorial planning. A binding multilevel coordination mechanism with earmarked budget is needed to clarify responsibilities at all levels of governance and thus avoid inaction and status quo. This should be addressed in the upcoming revision of the governance regulation. The new governance framework should also integrate multiple risks and sectors but also allow to go beyond administrative borders to an ecosystem-based governance following the concept of bioregions. Resilience requirements of already existing frameworks should be reinforced to avoid multiplying reporting processes. For example, SECAPs are widely used across the EU, reinforcing their adaptation pillar would be a simple and accessible measure. Following the same idea, the new framework should ensure climate adaptation is properly considered in existing local and regional climate action initiatives. When it comes to funding, the new framework should ensure alignment between commitments and earmarked budget to support implementation at regional and local levels. EU support is key for local authorities and a reduction of funding mechanisms would be detrimental to EUs resilience and security. For this reason, earmarked budget, separated from mitigation budget is crucial at EU level, particularly in the MFF. However, to properly fill the financing gap, public funding must be upscaled with private financing. Incentives to increase private investments such as public-private partnerships and fiscal incentives should be further investigated, developed and reinforced. Overall, funding and financing should focus on implementation, prioritise no-regret options such as ecosystem-based solutions, develop localised data for climate risk assessments and offer specific support to most vulnerable territories. When it comes to the potential resilience target at the EU level, it should be aligned with the global targets and allow for differentiated approaches adapted to local contexts and vulnerabilities. Moreover, to overcome the risk of fragmentation of sectoral targets, their combination should be encouraged. Finally, for years, LRAs have been supported by energy and climate agencies which have long played a critical role in implementing sustainable energy and climate policies. Agencies deep-rooted relationships with local and regional administrations and their experience in delivering EU-funded projects positions them as natural facilitators of climate resilience. These agencies are uniquely equipped to expand their role from energy transition facilitators to strategic coordinators of climate adaptation and resilience. To embrace this new role, targeted capacity-building, common methodologies and guidance on how to measure the impact of adaptation solutions are needed. With the right support, energy and climate agencies can become the backbone of EUs climate resilience and security.
Read full responseMeeting with Wioletta Dunin-Majewska (Cabinet of Commissioner Dan Jørgensen)
29 Aug 2025 · - Affordable Energy Action Plan - Support from regions and their energy agencies
Response to European grid package
5 Aug 2025
FEDARENE is the European network of Regions and Energy Agencies (EAs) and has more than 90 members across 24 countries from the European Union. EAs are experts on the frontlines of Europes decarbonisation. They are trusted, not-for-profit entities with a public mandate, supporting through their expertise citizens, SMEs, and municipalities in their energy and climate transformation efforts. They support industrys decarbonisation and facilitate community projects with citizens, local authorities and SMEs, and play a pivotal role in planning, modelling, and supporting various local and regional actors to decentralise energy systems, particularly in electrification and grid access. EAs are therefore actors that enable the energy transition at the regional and local level and understand the needs of their territories. Our contribution stresses the importance on five thematic areas: Integrated multilevel approach for planning, social acceptance facilitation, support for energy communities, streamlining of permitting processes and grid flexibility. European grid planning currently prioritises transmission and TSOs, leaving distribution underdeveloped. A harmonised EU framework is needed for distribution infrastructure, enabling EAs to contribute local insights to national plans. Their input into investment planning can ensure systems reflect local needs, increase public acceptance, and accelerate deployment. Resistance to infrastructure development is often rooted in poor community engagement. Rethinking planning with benefit-sharing and inclusive dialogue can foster trust, reduce opposition, and speed up implementation. Involving local firms and citizens in DSO and TSO contracts and ensuring communities can connect directly to the grid are essential. Lengthy and complex procedures delay renewable and grid projects. Transparent, digitalised permitting processes with harmonised formats and clearer roles for applicants and operators would reduce bottlenecks. We call for OSS approach for all grid, storage, and renewables permits. EAs help RECs navigate grid access, technical procedures, and coordination. However, energy communities are rarely considered in national plans and face long delays, high costs, and limited recognition. RECs should have tailored rights, simplified procedures, and access to DSO data for better planning. Lower fees and anticipatory investment would unlock their potential. Flexibility from RECs is growing via storage, smart infrastructure, and aggregation services. Examples from Spain and Greece show how EAs foster microgrids, municipal load management, and prosumer-led services. Citizens become active grid participants when supported by digital tools, governance models, and incentives. Grid flexibility must be understood as the energy systems ability to respond dynamically. Decentralised models, especially in islands and rural areas, need digitalisation, coordination, and public involvement. La Gomeras 100% Sustainable pilot (from Gran Canaria) demonstrates how smart PV-battery systems and algorithms can optimise energy use while evolving into full energy communities.
Read full responseResponse to Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act
8 Jul 2025
FEDARENE is the European network of Energy Agencies. These agencies are regional experts on the frontlines of Europes decarbonisation. They support industries in deploying renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, developing sustainable processes, and making strategic investments to future-proof their operations. They have co-developed solutions with industry, such as tripartite carbon contract programmes and third-party financing schemes, to lower costs and de-risk projects. FEDARENE welcomes the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act (IDAA) as a timely and ambitious initiative to support industrial decarbonisation. Energy-intensive industries remain vital to many European regions. As independent organisations with a public mandate, energy agencies provide tailored, neutral solutions adapted to the size, sector, and needs of each enterprise. The EUs competitiveness depends on its ability to embrace the energy transition while achieving climate neutrality, and energy agencies are central to that effort. While welcoming the scope of the IDAA, FEDARENE stresses the need to implement existing European measures, such as REDIII and REPowerEU, which remain under-deployed at national level. Beyond its questionnaire response, FEDARENE shares key insights from its members. Permitting remains a key obstacle. A distinction must be made between industrial decarbonisation projects, like energy efficiency and small-scale self-consumption, which should benefit from simplified procedures, and large-scale renewable or infrastructure projects, which continue to face complex and opaque processes. The lack of a clear, standardised permitting methodology leads to delays, uncertainty, and lost investments. Grid connection is another major barrier. Even approved projects face delays due to lengthy queues, unclear allocation procedures, and speculative hoarding of capacity. This is particularly critical in congested industrial zones. Infrastructure for hydrogen, CO2, and oxygen transport and storage also lags behind. These systems are essential for decarbonisation at scale and must be treated as strategic priorities. Regional authorities, who understand local industrial needs, must be formally involved in infrastructure planning and coordination. Financing is a persistent challenge, especially for SMEs, who often lack the internal capacity to navigate complex procedures. The administrative burden and restrictive eligibility criteria limit access to needed support. Restrictions on third-party financing hinder innovative service-based models, such as AREC Occitanies FITEO scheme, which accelerates decarbonisation through de-risking mechanisms. EU instruments tend to favour large-scale, innovative projects, often at the expense of practical, deployable solutions like energy efficiency, which should be more strongly prioritised in funding strategies. Decarbonisation challenges vary by sector. High-temperature industries like steel and cement face distinct constraints compared to those operating at lower temperatures. Policies and financial tools must reflect this diversity, with support tailored to different levels of technological maturity. Hard-to-abate sectors may require OPEX mechanisms, such as contracts for difference, to secure long-term financial viability. One of the most persistent barriers to industrial decarbonisation is the lack of awareness and the absence of a compelling, positive narrative. Many companies continue to approach decarbonisation reactively, viewing it primarily as a regulatory burden or additional cost, rather than as a strategic investment in long-term competitiveness. This mindset often leads to delayed action, by which point the risks to market position, resilience, and reputation may already be significant. (More detailed version attached)
Read full responseMeeting with Beatriz Yordi (Director Climate Action) and Eurocities and
30 Jun 2025 · ETS2 / SCF / Public consultation
Meeting with Maroš Šefčovič (Executive Vice-President) and
15 Mar 2024 · Clean Transition Dialogue for Cities