Closing the gap on energy efficiency investments

The Commission today officially launched a new, revamped website for the EU-UN initiative Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG), which aims at addressing the investment gap on energy efficiency. The objective of the new website is to keep stakeholders in the financial sector better informed on EEFIG activities, including synergies between the existing EEFIG structures and new EU initiatives foreseen under the European Green Deal, notably in the renovation wave initiative.

Energy efficiency plays a crucial role in achieving the EU’s Green Deal ambition of becoming climate-neutral by 2050. At the same time, the largest investment gaps identified in achieving this clean energy transition are those for energy efficiency measures in the building stock, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industry. The European Commission estimates that to achieve the newly agreed 55% climate target by 2030, around EUR 275 billion of investments per year are needed - the lion’s share in energy efficiency.

The Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG) was established by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Energyand the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) in 2013. Its aim is to gather participants from both public and private financial institutions, industry representatives and sector experts.

Through a multi-level stakeholder dialogue organised in targeted working groups, EEFIG members exchange ideas, develop market-based solutions, and recommend policy measures, all aimed at identifying and overcoming the barriers to the long-term financing for energy efficiency. This places EEFIG in a key position to support the activation of private-sector investments in the framework of the objectives of the European Green Deal, the EU Recovery Plan and the Renovation Wave strategy published in October.

EEFIG currently has eight working groups, leading deep-dive activities in several areas of this key investment challenge for Europe, such as

• Monitoring and evaluating financing practices;
• Increasing transparency on performance and risks of investments by means of improving the De-risking Energy Efficiency Investment Platform (DEEP);
• Analysing performance and risk of default of energy efficiency loans;
• Identifying multiple benefits of energy efficiency investments;
• Supporting energy efficiency investments in buildings and industry.

To subscribe to the new EEFIG newsletter, see here.

Related links

• Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG)