The European Commission today published its long-awaited Citizens Energy Package, part of a broader effort to lower electricity costs and tackle energy poverty. Yet, the package is a drop in the ocean when it comes to offering support for clean, affordable and citizen-owned energy. With oil and gas prices once again under pressure from war in the Middle-East, the EU must move faster to phase out fossil fuels and ensure a democratic, just, and inclusive energy transition.
Across Europe, citizens are eager to start local, renewable energy communities that secure environmental, economic, and social benefits to people, but are consistently denied their rights enshrined in EU laws because Member States have not properly implemented them.
Maria Santos, renewable energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, commented:
“Setting up an energy community is still a classic case of David vs. Goliath. Big energy corporations use their influence and power to protect their profits, while local communities trying to deliver real benefits for people and planet struggle to get off the ground. The EU Commission completely missed the opportunity to address that injustice.”
The EU Commission has failed to deliver on its energy community promises as significant bureaucratic, financial and technical barriers persist – failures also highlighted by the EU Court of Auditors. The Citizens Energy Package puts forwards ambitious goals but lacks both binding targets and concrete links to necessary funding. Friends of the Earth Europe calls on the EU Commission to make sure Member States provide a proper regulatory and legal environment to foster citizen-owned, renewable energy rather than protecting the status quo.
Read more
- Powering communities: How to deliver a Citizens’ Energy Package that’s fair and accessible to all by the Community Power Coalition
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