17 April, Brussels – A Greenovate! Europe study for the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme has concluded that transnational energy projects substantially assist central European regions to adapt their regional energy policies and take advantage of the benefits of renewable energies and energy efficiency.
17 April, Brussels – A Greenovate! Europe study for the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme has concluded that transnational energy projects substantially assist central European regions to adapt their regional energy policies and take advantage of the benefits of renewable energies and energy efficiency.
Greenovate! Europe scrutinised CENTRAL EUROPE energy projects and found that they succeed in creating viable policy toolkits for increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies. Transnational CENTRAL EUROPE projects design energy plans and perform pilot actions which are crucial for benchmarking regional solutions. They also assist in strategy developments and help to secure sustainable financial and political support. A wide variety of tools and strategies have been developed by the projects, and the study reveals that an impressive number of them have had clear impacts on regional and national policies, with great potential for transfer to other regions.
The countries and regions of central Europe vary greatly in their policy frameworks and show wide disparities in their current performance regarding the European energy targets set for 2020. Almost all countries are on track for meeting their commitments in electricity generation, but as a general trend, most are at risk of missing their targets for the heating and cooling sector, and are off track in the transport sector.
The frontrunners in central Europe are Austria and Slovenia, where 30.9 and 18.8 percent of total energy consumption, respectively, comes from renewable resources. Comparatively, Hungary and the Czech Republic are at the back of the pack at 9.1 and 9.4 percent. For energy efficiency, all states of the area have great improvements to make if they are to meet their targets, with some states missing even the basics of an energy efficiency policy framework.
Transnational projects help to reduce the above disparities through regional co-operation that allows for efficient sharing and learning from each other. The projects raise awareness of sustainable energy potentials, and by supporting smart and sustainable growth through behavioural change, they will help countries in central Europe to reach their 2020 targets.
To read the full report, click here.