Policy & Regulation

The Global ESCO Network has conducted a series of interviews with partner associations in order to map barriers for ESCOs that can be characterized as regulatory in nature. The interviews have been open and explorative, but structured with the aim to facilitate a categorization and benchmarking across countries.

For the first time, global demand for each of the fossil fuels shows a peak or plateau across all WEO scenarios. Russian exports in particular falling significantly as the world energy order is reshaped. The biggest tremors have been felt in the markets for natural gas, coal and electricity.

REPowerEU is a plan for saving energy, producing clean energy and diversifying the European energy supplies. It is backed by financial and legal measures to build the new energy infrastructure and system that Europe needs.

The EU is aiming for a net-zero and eco-friendly AI which is reflected in its latest set of actions and regulations for managing the development of Artificial Intelligence in the EU. The Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence is a joint commitment issued by the the European Commission and Member States.

EU needs €210bn over next five years to pay for phasing out Russian fossil fuels based on a plan drawn up in response to the Kremlin-ordered invasion of Ukraine. The plan proposes upgrades to the EU green deal, the blocs flagship policy to confront the climate crisis. Officials also want to cut energy consumption by 13% by 2030 (compared with 2020), too.

In a global interconnected system understanding where hydrogen has come from will become incredibly important. The temptation for some to make hydrogen from coal and release the carbon dioxide into the atmosphere may be too great, however as international trade develops the risk increases.

A recent survey in the United Kingdom assessed public perception to be largely ambivalent to hydrogen. Over 64% of participants were unable to demonstrate even a basic knowledge of hydrogen technology or its potential to contribute to the energy system.

The optimization of energy use in buildings and industry requires a systems approach to harvest its full potential. This idea is winning ground, as it is shown by the proposal of the ITRE committee of the European Parliament to include a definition of ‘system efficiency'.

Recently there has been more and more in the media about hydrogen as a future fuel. These discussions often talk about hydrogen using a colour coding - which has the potential to confuse an already complicated matter even further. To support discussion I have pulled together a summary.