A broad group of 100 organisations from industrial sectors and civil society calls on EU policymakers to accelerate the uptake of clean and renewable electricity as the most cost-effective and energy efficient strategy to deliver a climate neutral Europe.
The European Commission’s Long Term Decarbonisation Strategy “A Clean Planet for All” showed that renewable and decarbonised electricity must increase significantly, replacing fossil fuels in Europe’s energy mix, as a precondition to meeting our climate and energy objectives.
Electrification has the potential to profoundly reshape Europe’s economy, revitalise its industry and ensure a clean and healthy environment for its citizens. It can drastically cut Europe’s € 5 billion per week bill for fuel imports, reduce energy consumption by 4-8 times and address the severe health risks associated with poor air quality.
To fulfil the vision of climate neutrality, necessary investments in network infrastructure, smart solutions and renewable energy generation must start now. Policies must be geared towards this objective.
The Declaration released calls on EU policymakers to deliver a meaningful Green Deal and fast-track Europe’s electrification by:
- Mainstreaming clean and direct electrification in the heating, cooling and transport sectors (including heat pumps and electric vehicles), as the most cost-effective and energy efficient strategy to address climate change;
- Supporting a robust industrial strategy towards climate neutrality to ensure Europe’s leadership in renewables-based, decarbonised and digital electricity solutions including electrolysers;
- Ensuring that investments in energy networks, especially smart electricity grids, support the transition to a climate neutral economy;
- Modernising the energy taxation regime to accelerate the shift towards decarbonising electricity consumption and increased uptake of clean electricity in end-use sectors;
- Securing sufficient financing in the EU budget to support regions and Member States with a different starting point, including a meaningful Just Energy Transition Fund;
- Targeting Research and Innovation funding to accelerate a cost-effective transition in hard to abate sectors (e.g. cement, shipping, aviation), notably through an increase of the Horizon Europe budget to €120 billion.
The Electrification Alliance is founded in 2017 and its members are Association of Electrical Contractors, Copper Institute, European Heat Pump Association, Smart Energy Europe, SolarPower Europe and WindEurope.