On Tuesday 10 March, the European Commission unveiled its energy package on the eleventh day of war in the Middle East, the implications of which for the world oil and gas markets have been enough to revive the traumas of the 2022 energy price crisis.
Among the three initiatives unveiled (see other news), an investment strategy for clean energy seems to have come at just the right time, as the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, pointed out during a speech at the European Nuclear Summit (see other news).
When it comes to fossil fuels, “we are completely dependent on expensive and volatile imports (...); the current Middle East crisis gives a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities this creates”, she stressed.
She also called for investment in home-grown low-carbon energy sources, namely nuclear and renewable energies.
Closing the investment gap. This new strategy for investment in “clean” energies is aimed at achieving the objectives of the energy transition, with annual investment in the energy system reaching around €660 billion per year between 2026 and 2030, then €695 billion per year between 2031 and 2040.
It is therefore helping to bridge the gap between the private capital currently available and the investment needed for networks, innovative clean energy technologies and energy efficiency.
The European Commission will implement this strategy in collaboration with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Group, which plans to provide more than €75 billion in financing over the next three years to support energy transition objectives. In addition, the EIB Group will make available an indicative amount of €500 million in a Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund, partly in response to the objectives of the networks package (see EUROPE 13824/12).
Divided into four areas, the strategy aims to improve access to capital markets for electricity grid operators, but also to support them by strengthening the ability of banks to lend, to provide targeted public funds to de-risk innovative clean energy technologies and, within the year, to set up an Energy Transition Investment Council with the investment community.
Anticipating an energy price crisis. In the current geopolitical context, and in anticipation of an energy price crisis that could require action at European level, the European Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, pointed out that “we have learnt lessons from 2022” and that any emergency measures that are envisaged should be “temporary and targeted”.
On a global level, the G7 Energy Summit instructed the International Energy Agency on Tuesday to begin work on several scenarios and to produce a detailed report on the possible release of strategic stocks.
The Middle East conflict and its energy implications, as well as price competitiveness, will be back on the table for European leaders at a European Summit on 19 March.
This first energy package will be followed by a second, including the much-awaited action plan for electrification and the revision of the EU’s energy security framework.
View the investment strategy for clean energy: https://aeur.eu/f/l41 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)