Rapporteur Talks

Last summer, the European Commission published a proposal for recasting the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), aimed at further stimulating EU efforts to promote energy efficiency and progress towards achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Heating and cooling play a significant role in the Union’s ambition to transition to a clean and carbon-neutral economy. In the EED, a particular focus is put on district heating and cooling, where the definition of efficient systems will gradually be tightened to move away from fossil fuel-based systems. In cogeneration, the aim is to introduce additional criteria for specific emissions in high-efficiency cogeneration (270 gCO2/kWh).

These proposed measures in the recast EED should be seen alongside the new targets proposed in the revised Renewable Energy proposal for including renewables in heating and cooling (at least 1.1%) and for district heating and cooling (2.1%), which aim to ensure wider use of renewables and waste heat in such systems.

The energy industry expressed some concerns for the new definition of "efficient systems" and its impact on district heating systems, especially those based on natural gas high-efficiency cogeneration. They claim that for existing efficient district heating systems, an adequate transition period should be introduced to adapt to the new requirements, in order to avoid these systems from suddenly losing their status.

District heating is not the same across the Union, since it largely depends on regional and local conditions and is therefore mostly used in the EU’s coldest countries. During the open public consultation carried out by the European Commission, several energy industry stakeholders expressed their concerns that the current goals of increasing the share of renewables can be seen as a challenge for Member States that have decided to develop heating systems as an effective way of ensuring heat supply while at the same time reducing the emissions of district heat by replacing coal with other fuels like natural gas.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to discuss the new definition of efficient district heating systems in the EED proposal, and how stakeholders can best cooperate to achieve cost-effective decarbonisation.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out how long it will take until autonomous vehicles become the norm, and what is delaying progress. Discussed questions included:

- Can the existing infrastructure be adapted to accommodate autonomous vehicles?
- What are the most efficient technologies that can be deployed in a sustainable and ethical manner for making autonomous driving an everyday reality?
- Is there harmonisation of intelligent transportation systems (ITS) across Europe, such as data standardisation and the extension of digital infrastructure, to ensure a seamless service for road users and to prepare for autonomous vehicles?
- Are users aware of, and ready for, the challenges, like roads with mixed driver and driverless traffic?

The EU's post-pandemic Green Recovery is laying the foundations for a new understanding of buildings and construction processes. The needs of people and systems are being reconsidered, while new implications of construction work are taken into consideration, such as energy production and efficiency, recycling of materials and sourcing of raw materials, transportation of tools and materials.

Buildings are responsible for about 40% of the EU's energy consumption, and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions from energy. But only 1% of buildings undergo energy efficient renovation every year.

The Commission aims to at least double building renovation rates in the next ten years and make sure renovations lead to higher energy and resource efficiency. This will enhance the quality of life for people living in and using the buildings, reduce Europe's greenhouse gas emissions, foster digitalisation, and improve the reuse and recycling of materials. By 2030, 35 million buildings could be renovated and up to 160,000 additional green jobs created in the construction sector.

A carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), announced in the European Green Deal, will also serve as an essential element of the EU toolbox to meet the objective of a climate-neutral EU by 2050. The CBAM will equalise the price of carbon between domestic products and imports and encourage producers in non-EU countries to green their production processes. It will initially apply only to a selected number of goods at high risk of carbon leakage: iron and steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium, and electricity generation.

Given the scale of emissions produced by the construction sector, cleaning it up will be a challenge for EU policymakers and Member States, particularly when addressing entire global supply chains.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out about the new economic and environmental challenges for the construction sector, particularly for South-Eastern Europe. Discussed questions include:

- What will be the new implications faced during, before and after construction - from conceptualising, planning, designing, constructing and maintaining?
- How can the global supply chain crisis be navigated by South-Eastern Member States?
- What role can the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility play?
- What are the implications of higher construction materials and energy prices?
- Would there be an increased demand for recycled (secondary) construction materials and products? And, is there a lack of adequate recycling facilities?
- What form can the 'renovation wave' take in less economically advanced Member States, and what will the costs be for the construction sector?
- How to make construction a cornerstone of CBAM?

Agriculture is one of the key focus areas of the partnership between the EU and the African Union (AU), with the EU’s focus being on facilitating a green transition in line with its Green Deal ambitions. By working together to boost safe and sustainable agri-food systems, the AU and the EU can address the challenges of nutrition and food security, environmental concerns, and economic growth.

From February 17-18 at the EU-Africa Union Summit, African and European Heads of State and Government will meet to determine joint priorities for their common future. The Summit is due to include an exchange of views on common areas of cooperation in a renewed Africa-EU Partnership. The partnership agreement is expected to cover agriculture, a key sector in Africa with a large social and economic footprint.

Some stakeholders argue that future agri-food partnerships between the EU and Africa, while enabling a sustainable transformation, must also be adapted to the realities of farming in Africa. Such realities include, among others: unrealised yield and the yield potential of farms; the ambition to end hunger; agriculture is predominantly smallholder led; it is more affected by climate change, disease and pests pressure not present in Europe; low technology access and use; and low investment despite governmental commitments made in the 2014 Malabo commitments. They also highlight the ongoing challenge of illicit products circulating in the market.

The partnership is also being agreed against a backdrop of the newly established and evolving African Continental Free Trade Area that created the largest free trade areas in the world, measured by number of countries participating.

Listen to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to discuss how Africa can transition sustainably towards greener agriculture. Questions to be discussed include:
- How can the global sustainability agenda be effectively localised? What do the localisation agendas look like for Europe and Africa respectively?
- What laws, partnerships and investments are needed to unlock a sustainable transformation that empowers smallholder farmers, builds food security and contributes to livelihoods?
- How can we unlock the potential of sustainable technologies?

En réponse aux conséquences économiques et sociales de la pandémie, les Etats membres de l'Union européenne ont adopté un plan de relance historique baptisé « NextGenerationEU ». Avec une enveloppe d'environ 750 milliards d'euros, cet accord a pour objectif principal le financement du pacte vert pour l'Europe et la transition numérique.

La crise sanitaire a rappelé l'importance de la souveraineté alimentaire ainsi que la nécessité de renforcer la transition agroécologique sur le continent européen. Une partie conséquente du plan de relance sera allouée au secteur agricole, majoritairement par le biais la PAC, dont la France est la première bénéficiaire. Selon l’INRAE (Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement), les aides directes de la PAC auraient financé 74% du revenu des agriculteurs en 2019 en France.

L'agriculture durable est également un point essentiel de la réforme de la PAC qui entrera en vigueur en 2023. Après de longues négociations au Parlement européen, les avis restent partagés concernant les ambitions de l'accord sur le plan environnemental. La France doit désormais soumettre son Plan stratégique national (PSN) qui sera présenté à la Commission et fixera les priorités du gouvernement quant à la mise en œuvre du nouvel accord sur le territoire. L'élaboration du PSN est un réel enjeu pour la France car la nouvelle réforme de la PAC octroie une marge décisionnelle plus importante aux Etats membres de l'Union.

Ecoutez cette conférence virtuelle organisée par EURACTIV. Les questions abordées sont les suivantes :
- Comment la France utilise-t-elle concrètement les ressources financières mises à sa disposition au niveau national et régional ?
- Comment le gouvernement français soutient-il la transition agroécologique ?
- Comment contrôle-t-on la mise en œuvre des initiatives durables par les agriculteurs ?
- Quelles solutions innovantes sont utilisées pour maintenir ces objectifs ?

In July 2021, the European Commission adopted a Proposal for establishing a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The aim of the proposal is to require importers to buy carbon certificates corresponding to the carbon price that would have been paid had the goods been produced under the EU's carbon pricing rules. Conversely, once a non-EU producer can show they have already paid a price for the carbon used in the production of the imported goods in a third country, the corresponding cost can be fully deducted for the EU importer.

The CBAM is intended to complement the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and level the playing field between EU and non-EU businesses. The EU ETS, which sets a cap on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that can be released from industrial installations in certain sectors, works through a system of allowances that must be bought on the ETS trading market, though a certain number of free allowances is distributed to prevent carbon leakage. The CBAM will progressively become an alternative to this. Moreover, in the Commission's new proposal for a revised ETS, the number of free allowances for all sectors will decline over time, and for the CBAM sectors, the free allowances will gradually be phased out as from 2026.

An industry particularly susceptible to these mechanisms is that of steel, which has set out the ambition to reduce its CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2018 (= 55% compared to 1990). Currently, there are more than 50 steel projects that could be implemented at industrial scale by 2030 in order to achieve this ambitious objective. The estimated costs are 25 billion EUR Capex and 45 billion EUR Opex, plus 150 TWh of carbon-free electricity needed, including for hydrogen production, by 2030. The EU steel industry states it is willing to invest in order to implement these and other projects, with the support of EU and national programmes and EU legislation that allows a sustainable transition.

Stakeholders from the industry have expressed some concerns about the CBAM and ETS. They claim that the additional direct carbon costs for the steel industry with the combined effect of CBAM and ETS on the free allowances phase-out will be of nearly 14 billion euros in 2030 with ‘business as usual’ emissions, or 8,4 billion euros if the sector is able to reduce its emissions by 30% by 2030. Industry also claims that in 2030, an average EU steel company retrofitting its plant with clean technology will face 400 million euros carbon costs, while a similar non-EU company exporting its steel into the EU market will bear only 30 million euros of costs, despite the CBAM levy at the border.

Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out about the impact of the CBAM and ETS mechanisms on the steel industry. Discussed questions included:

- Is the Fit for 55 Package also “fit” to ensure a level playing field between EU steelmakers and non EU-steelmakers?
- In light of the current energy and carbon prices spikes, how can the phasing out of free allowances be implemented in a sustainable way?
- Can the CBAM coexist with the current system of free allowances?
- Why should we need export adjustments and to what extent are they compliant with WTO requirements?
- Investments in breakthrough technologies and affordable CO2-free energy are key for scaling up low-carbon steel projects already in progress. How can those needs be met, while creating lead markets for the greener but also more expensive EU steel?

In December 2021, the European Commission published the Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Market Package with the aim to decarbonise the EU gas market by facilitating the uptake of renewable and low-carbon gases, including hydrogen, and to ensure energy security for EU citizens.

One of the main aims of the new legislative proposals is to establish a market for hydrogen, create the right environment for investment, and enable the development of dedicated infrastructure, including for trade with third countries.

A new governance structure in the form of the European Network of Network Operators for Hydrogen (ENNOH) will be created to promote a dedicated hydrogen infrastructure, cross-border coordination and interconnector network construction, and elaborate on specific technical rules.

The new legislative proposals follow from the strategic vision set out in the EU Strategy for Energy System Integration, the EU Hydrogen Strategy and the EU Methane Strategy.

Listen to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out the EU's shift from natural gas to renewable and low-carbon gases, including hydrogen. Questions included:
-Will the new legislative proposals be enough to decarbonise Europe’s gas supply, and help the EU reach its 2030 and 2050 targets?
-How can the EU ensure effective integration of hydrogen within its energy system?

Over the last century, the amount of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled. A rapid, large-scale effort to tackle its emissions could slow global warming by 30%. Last year, the EU played a major role in launching the Global Methane Pledge signed by over 100 countries representing 70% of the global economy committing to reduce methane emissions this decade.

Up until now, little has been done in Europe on the regulatory front to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas. But the European Commission is to change that by finalising a regulation aimed at cutting down methane emissions as part of a gas package of legislation published on 15 December.

As the world’s largest gas importer, with 85% of the bloc’s natural gas produced outside its borders, the EU’s plan to crack down on methane emissions is crucial. The European Commission’s methane proposal has been criticised by some industry and climate stakeholders for not going far enough in dealing with extraterritorial emissions.

Attention now turns to the European Parliament and Member States to set the tone of the negotiations in the coming months to ensure the EU methane legislation achieves deep greenhouse gas reductions.

Listen to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out how the EU can tackle energy sector methane emissions and reach its 2030 climate targets and the 2050 climate neutrality goal. Questions included:
– Are the proposed methane measurement, monitoring and mitigation requirements enough to address Europe’s methane problem?
– How can the EU lead the way on reducing methane emissions at a global level?

The European Parliament and the Council are working with the European Commission to find a final compromise on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that aims to ensure contestability, fairness, and a level playing field in the EU. While the political directions from the Parliament and the Council have been set, more work is needed to get to the final text and make the DMA work.

Clear and predictable rules are necessary to provide legal certainty for gatekeepers and users alike and for the DMA to be self-enforcing. In order to regulate dynamic digital markets effectively and proportionally, account should be taken of the nature of core platform services targeted by the DMA and the presence of different business models. It is deemed unwise for self-enforcement to be left entirely to the gatekeepers. Guidance will be needed to get to effective remedies and the Commission might need to play a stronger role in defining what concretely gatekeepers should and should not do.

Many industry stakeholders support the idea of some form of regulatory dialogue. Both gatekeepers and users would benefit and enforcement would be strengthened. Such a dialogue could contribute to ensure the DMA achieves its objectives and to create legal certainty by providing further specification to the obligations gatekeepers will have to comply with as well as to hold gatekeepers accountable. It could also help to better understand the effects that the DMA would have on the different platform services, on consumers and business users.

Listen to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out how the regulatory dialogue could be designed and implemented to contribute to the effectiveness and durability of the DMA. How would the general obligations of the DMA apply across the diverse platform services covered? How can companies best assist the EU Commission in achieving the DMA policy objectives?