At the One Planet Summit, the EU unveiled its Action Plan for the Planet, which comprises of a series of initiatives to forward a modern and clean economy. The Summit, hosted by French President Emanuel Macron, jointly organized by the United Nations and the World Bank Group, took place on 12th of December 2017, on the second anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement. The Summit brought together world leaders, representatives of various international organizations and agencies, financial institutions, as well as private sector representatives to discuss how they can accelerate global efforts to fight climate change.

The EU recognizes that the Paris Agreement is indispensable for the modernization of the European industry and economy. The European Commission encourages businesses to maintain and exploit their first mover advantage in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and in the competition for the development of the global clean technology market.

The Action Plan for the Planet includes 10 transformative initiatives:

1)    Putting the Financial Sector at the Service of the Climate:

The Commission is committed to set in place the necessary reforms of its financial policy framework to incentivize the contribution of the financial sector in the green transition. In particular, the financial sector should re-orient investments towards more sustainable technologies. It is necessary to integrate sustainability considerations into the strategies of investors, to create incentives for investors to favor low-carbon investments or loans and to incorporate ESG (environment, social and governance) factors into the mandate of supervisory authorities. A comprehensive action plan will be presented in March 2018.

2)    EU External Investment Plan - Opportunities for Africa and the EU Neighbourhood region

The European Fund for Sustainable Development, a key pillar of the new EU's External Investment Plan, is expected to play a pivotal role in promoting inclusive growth and job creation in Africa and the EU Neighbourhood countries. EU’s contribution of €4.1 billion to the Fund is expected to trigger up to €44 billions in additional investments. Climate-related investment windows under the fund include:

a) Sustainable energy and connectivity investment window,

b) Sustainable agriculture, rural entrepreneurs, and agribusiness investment window,

c) Sustainable Cities investment window.

3)    Urban Investment Support for European Cities

The Commission recognized that cities and urban communities are the places where a large part of the low carbon transition is happening and where 70% of Europeans live. In order to facilitate this transition, the Commission has launched the new 'Urban Investment Support' (URBIS) initiative to help cities plan and implement their investment strategies.

4)    Clean Energy for Islands Initiative

Many of Europe’s 2400 islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change and over-dependent on fossil fuels and energy imports. In order to help islanders embrace renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the EU will create the EU Island Secretariat. Its primary task will be to promote self-reliance of islands, reduce their dependency on costly fossil fuel imports, and deliver effective and customized solutions to boost renewable energy use and development.

5)    Structural Support Action for Coal and Carbon Intensive Regions

The EU’s fight against climate change must be carried out so that it benefits all European regions. Due to the dependency of some regions on carbon-intensive industries or on coal mining, the Commission has launched the Coal and carbon-intensive regions initiative and the Industrial transition regions initiative. European Commission experts expected to boost innovation capacity of the regions concerned, remove investment barriers, improve workers’ skills, and prepare for industrial and societal change.

6)    European Youth for Climate Action

The Commission has presented the European Solidarity Corps initiative, which creates opportunities for young people to volunteer or work in projects in their own countries or abroad. The European Solidarity Corps will be equipped with a budget of more than €340 million for 2018-2020. Over €40 million could be dedicated to creating volunteering opportunities in the areas of environment and climate action by 2020.

7)    Smart Finance for Smart Buildings Investment Facility

The building and housing sector account for 40% of Europe's energy consumption. According to the Commission, local energy efficiency measures are an effective way to create investment opportunities, growth, and employment. Moreover, the energetic efficiency of national economies is critical for the achievement of the Paris Agreement objectives. It has been acknowledged that currently, the biggest investment gap is in the building and housing sector; thus, the European Investment Bank has launched the Smart Finance for Smart Buildings Facility. Through the use EU grants, the Finance for Smart Buildings Facility is expected to promote energy-efficient building projects that will attract more private investors, and have a high return on investments.

8)    EU Rulebook for Investment in Energy Performance of Buildings

The Commission believes that the renovation of public buildings is an essential contribution to the achievement of the objectives set by the Paris Agreement. However, it has been observed that costs and accounting can be complicated for public authorities. Therefore, the Eurostat released a revised guide for the recording of energy performance contracts in government accounts. Statistical recording of such contracts, including the circumstances in which they can be recorded off government balance sheets will make it easier for municipalities to use energy performance contracts with no negative impact on the public deficit and debt.

9)    Investing in Clean Industrial Technologies

If the EU wants to maintain and exploit its first mover advantage in clean energy and climate science and technology, it will need to further support start-ups and investors. Thus, the Commission plans to increase targeted public investments in clean energy and climate science and innovation, to deploy targeted financial instruments to lower the risk of private investments, and to design stable and ambitious regulatory environment that promotes innovation. In addition, needed investments will be accelerated by the Innovation Fund and the Modernisation Fund.

10) Clean, Connected and Competitive Mobility

The European Commission recognizes transport as a key sector for meeting the EU's climate targets. It accounts for 33% of energy consumption and for 64.5% of oil consumption in the EU. The Commission has launched a number of initiatives, which will help the European automotive industry and the mobility sector to prepare for the future, including the Industrial Policy Initiative on Batteries, Additional Investment in the deployment of infrastructures, Clean vehicles for public institutions, Modernised road charging to promote cleaner vehicles and Intermodal transport and long-distance connections. The EU seeks to ensure that mobility in the future will be cleaner, more accessible and affordable for all its citizens.

The gLAWcal Team