No half measures - Investment needs in energy efficiency and renewables in the CEE countries

The study offers an overview of estimated investment needs of CEE countries and compares them with the amounts currently earmarked for low-carbon economy, energy efficiency and renewables in the European Commission proposals on Cohesion policy and the Multi-annual Financial Framework.

The total investments necessary to utilise the potential for energy efficiency and renewable sources in seven CEE countries amount to EUR 24.626 billion anually, totalling EUR 172.382 billion in the 2014-2020 period.

Given the disparity between the investment needs and the public funding currently proposed for energy efficiency and renewable sources in the Cohesion policy proposals, there is a need to substantially increase funding into these areas, not only because of their contribution to the EU climate and energy targets, but especially because of the extraordinary employment and economic benefits of such measures.