Investors worth €19tn call for EU decarbonisation

Investors managing more than €19 trillion (£16.6tn) in assets have urged EU energy ministers to agree to an ambitious 2050 decarbonisation framework. The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) have […]

Investors managing more than €19 trillion (£16.6tn) in assets have urged EU energy ministers to agree to an ambitious 2050 decarbonisation framework.

The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) have called for leaders to demonstrate a strong ambition for implementing the EU Energy Efficiency Directive and say it must include four key elements as a minimum.

They want to see a long term decarbonisation objective embedded into Clean Energy Package legislation, aligned with the Paris Agreement and containing an investment strategy that includes the role of private finance.

The other requests include a minimum and binding EU energy efficiency target of at least 30% and support for the extension of annual energy savings obligations post-2020 and increasing ambition beyond the current level of 1.5%.

The investors also want green investments to be properly measured on actual, rather than ‘designed’, energy performance.

Stephanie Pfeifer, CEO of the IIGCC said: “In the light of the recent US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, it is vital the EU steps up to deliver global leadership on climate action.

“A robust regulatory framework for energy efficiency is essential to give investors the confidence necessary to ensure they direct many trillions of capital towards the low carbon transition across the EU.”

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