“Fit for 55” package gives increased recognition to the local level but fails to deliver systemic change
On the 14th
of July, the European Commission released a mammoth legislative
package made up of 13 proposals in order to be “Fit for 55”. As the
catchphrase eloquently suggests, the aim is to align the current climate and
energy policies with the new objective of 55% of reduction of Green House Gases
by 2030 compared to 1990’s level.
Local
authorities and communities featured prominently
For Energy
Cities, this legislative firework has been quite colourful. Indeed, local authorities are very much under the
spotlight and their role in the energy transition has been well underlined
by the European Commission in the whole package. For example, the
proposed revision of the European Energy Efficiency Directive encourages the
Member States to implement a requirement for local heat planning among cities
of at least 50 000 inhabitants while calling for appropriate financial and
technical support from member states.
The role of the
local level and the recognition that the benefits and control of projects need
to be more evenly shared by citizens is also acknowledged through the boost given to citizen energy
communities, which are featured prominently in the package.
No silver
bullet for the energy transition
Leading up to
the adoption of the package, debates have raged around controversial energy
sources like hydrogen energy and biomass, with supporters and opponents putting
up a fierce fight. This shows there is still a widespread tendency to think the
energy system in terms of silver bullet solutions, a relic from the century-old
habit of relying on a one-way delivery of a single source of (fossil) energy.
This is essentially distracting attention from the fact that there will not be one energy transition but
many, each adapted to the local context and opportunities.
The shift toward
locally-based energy systems will require an arsenal of measures that concretely and effectively support cities in
implementing this structural change. As our report shows, cities however
lack the human, financial and technical means to do so. More thus needs to be
done at the EU, national and regional level to bridge this resource gap notably
through programmes such as the EU City Facility (see
our guide on the topic) or the LIFE programme ( check our position paper EU
Environmental funding: five building blocks to trigger a systemic shift to
climate neutrality)
Looking ahead,
we look forward to seeing how new orientations within the Multiannual Financial
Framework and the EU semester will help deliver that change.
The reformed
carbon pricing system
Cities are best
placed to initiate a just transition as they know best the citizens and the
needs of certain vulnerable populations. The fit for 55 package has set up a “Social
Climate Fund” to compensate for the consequences of creating a new
carbon allowance system, separate from the current EU Emission Trading System
(ETS), covering buildings and road transport. To make the best use of these
resources at the local level, cities
should be involved in the design of the projects pipelines and national plans that
will be fed by this new fund
While the
creation of the social climate fund is a welcomed move, we nonetheless need to acknowledge that market
forces alone have proved to be a very unreliable ally to solve climate issues,
let alone social ones. What we need is to create a systemic shift of our
economic model, that makes the most of our local resources without creating
social and planetary imbalances (here
is our new Agenda for a transformative decade).
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Fuente: ENERGY CITIES
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