EU

“Community energy projects” are energy projects providing for direct benefits to a group of local shareholders. The opportunity for residents to develop and own green energy infrastructure or to jointly leverage untapped energy saving potential, represents a range of economic and social opportunities such as job creation, business opportunities, lowering energy bills and acceptance of sustainable energy production.

Six environmental NGOs, having been working on the Cohesion policy regulations for several years, provide in this document a detailed analysis on the uptake and safeguards of key environmental issues throughout the negotiations between the three institutions (Parliament, Council and Commission), and recommendations to ensure that the next Cohesion Policy for 2014-2020 better contributes to Europe’s 2020 targets, creates green jobs, enhances economic opportunities and addresses environmental challenges.

The EU’s global leadership on climate change is set to take another blow if the European Investment Bank, the EU house bank and one of the world’s largest public lenders, adopts a future energy lending policy as presented yesterday to the public. The draft policy includes weaker standards for lending to coal plants than currently proposed in both the US and Canada.