Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
ENEA
ENEA Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development.
ID: 260979410204-49
Lobbying Activity
Response to Commission Communication – "Renovation wave" initiative for the building sector
5 Jun 2020
ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, welcomes the EGD ‘Renovation wave’ initiative for the building sector.
In our role of National Agency for Energy Efficiency (in accordance with the implementation of the EU Directive EC/2006/32), we would like to share our contribution with some insights for the draft Communication: “A Renovation Wave initiative for public and private buildings”.
Read full responseResponse to 2030 Climate Target Plan
15 Apr 2020
ENEA welcomes all the EU efforts made to become climate-neutral by 2050 and would like to contribute to the current debate. The main points tackled in this contribution refers to i) more ambitious targets; ii) enabling technologies; iii) regional features; iv) consumer’s behaviour; v) financing: vi) energy poverty: vii) circularity: viii) ETS
- The change of 2030 targets may induce uncertainty among business operators and market players, in a context already characterised by the cyclical occurrence of adverse conditions for investors (e.g. Covid-19). National policy makers should take on convenient revisions, which require long and complex procedures, to adapt the policy documents accordingly
- The role played by technological progress must be taken into due account. The development of innovative energy infrastructures and devices leads to a system’s cost reduction, consequently spurring the pace of emission cuts. This would enable a smoother achievement of the 2050 target, even keeping the current 2030 objectives unchanged
- A renewed Integrated SET-Plan can provide stakeholders with the guidance for understanding R&I needs in each sector to facilitate the transition to climate neutrality
- At Regional level, it is recommended to pinpoint the connection between the RIS3 and the priorities set by National authorities and EU bodies
- There is usually a gap between strategic planning documents drafted at national level and their translation into regional objectives. Regional peculiarities aimed at preserving competitiveness of some industrial sectors need to be considered
- The Commission calls for households’ involvement to invest for turning their consumption patterns into a more sustainable way. The initiative does not specifically address an assessment of the challenges to be faced by society in terms of behavioural change nor training and information as the enabling factors to be activated for the success of the initiative itself
- It is necessary to conceive actions to support this transition, to promote an appropriate dissemination of information about the environmental impact of people’s habits and the effects of energy and resources consumer choices, and to introduce incentive measures
- To unlock the potential of finance is a crucial point. The EU must engage in a substantial revision of banking and finance regulations by encouraging the sustainability principle in investment decisions
- It is worth paying attention to the contribution given by several stakeholders working groups and platforms. On energy efficiency (EE), the Energy Efficiency Financial Institution Group (EEFIG) is engaged in drawing up policy guidelines aimed at removing market and regulatory barriers that prevent long-term investments
- The Commission should elaborate more on the economic impact of energy and climate objectives on most vulnerable population groups, formulating hypothesis on time variation of the conditions of households in energy poverty and conceiving convenient EE and RE deployment support measures. A standardized definition of energy poverty at EU level should be adopted and used. The concept of energy sufficiency would be consistent with the SDG no 7
- Financing may be available from re-allocation of energy products tax revenues. Multifaceted benefits from EE measures also account for general improvement of health conditions
- The gradual reduction of incentives to fossil fuels needs measures to offset the negative distributional effects towards the beneficiaries of the subsidies
- A better coordination of policy undertakings in the field of EE and the Circular Economy Package is a key issue.
- EU may design measures to promote solutions with lower impact in terms of use of materials and waste production.
- The inclusion in the ETS of emissions from buildings has an impact on sector investments and it would help facilitating the achievement of joint objectives of EE and decarbonisation in this sector
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