Our Declaration

THE ELECTRIFICATION ALLIANCE

The Electrification Alliance was formed in June 2017.

Our Alliance wants to show the potential of electricity on Europe’s path towards decarbonization. The Alliance partners are strong supporters of the Paris Climate Agreement and call for urgent action to achieve its objectives.

This action requires an ambitious system approach, recognizing the need to decarbonize the European economy, while advancing Europe’s competitiveness, economic growth, job creation, and the promotion of a sustainable, healthy society for European citizens.

Smart and efficient electrification offers this system approach, enabling the decarbonization, sectoral integration, digitalization, and increased efficiency of the transport, heating & cooling and industrial sectors. The Alliance seeks to highlight in its communication essential policy decisions in EU Energy & Climate policy to fully unlock the benefits of electrification across all relevant societal sectors

MEMBERS:

European Association for Electromobility (AVERE), European Association of Electrical Contractors (EuropeOn), European Climate Foundation (ECF), European Copper Institute, Eurelectric, European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), Smart Energy Europe (smartEn), SolarPower Europe, WindEurope

As a new institutional cycle begins, Europe has the unique opportunity to take decisive political action to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Europeans support ambitious climate action and a clean energy transition which leaves no country and no citizen behind. A European Green Deal, as proposed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, is the opportunity to progress towards a carbon neutral European economy, powered by clean electricity.We are at a pivotal moment. The European Commission’s Long Term Decarbonisation Strategy “A Clean Planet for All” highlighted that renewable and decarbonised electricity should increase significantly, replacing fossil fuels in Europe’s energy mix and across all sectors of the economy, as a pre-condition to meeting our Climate and Energy objectives. To deliver on a carbon neutral Europe, necessary investments in network infrastructure, smart solutions and renewable energy generation must start now, and all policies must now be geared towards achieving this objective.

Recent studies show that fully decarbonised electricity is central to any cost-effective long-term climate strategy.

1. Mainstream clean and direct electrification in the heating & cooling and transport sectors, as the most cost-effective and energy efficient strategy to address climate change and enhance the quality of life of all Europeans. Deploy without delay the technologies that are already available to decarbonise industrial processes, transport and the heating & cooling sector;
2. Support a robust industrial strategy ensuring that Europe’s carbon neutrality serves as a springboard for European industrial leadership in renewables-based, decarbonised and digital electricity solutions, including electrolysers;
3. Take action to promote the further digitalisation of the energy value chains, which is necessary for delivering successful and smart electrification strategies. Accompany the transition towards a digitalised energy sector, by helping energy professionals acquire the necessary digital skills and competences;
4. Ensure that investments in network infrastructure, especially smart electricity grids, support the transition towards a net-zero carbon economy. This must be based on an independent assessment of the need for direct and indirect electrification across sectors of the economy, by means of the TEN-E regulations’ revision;
5. Prioritise the revision of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive to support the increase of electric vehicles by accelerating the roll-out of charging infrastructure;
6. Ensure the effective implementation of the revised Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and shape an integrated strategy for new and existing buildings pulling together synergies for electrification, on-site renewables, energy efficiency and smart technologies. This is key to achieving a decarbonised building stock by 2050;
7. Deliver an ambitious strategy with clear goals to decarbonise energy demand from heating & cooling. This should unlock system benefits resulting from sector integration, foster energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in the heating & cooling sector;
8. Secure sufficient financing under the next EU budget to support regions and the Member States with a different starting point in the decarbonisation journey including a meaningful Just Energy Transition Fund. Climate change policies should be inclusive and address the challenges of energy poverty and vulnerable consumers;
9. Modernise the energy taxation regime to accelerate the shift towards decarbonising electricity consumption and increased uptake of clean electricity in end-use sectors;
10. Target Research and Innovation funding for key climate mitigation system solutions, as well as carbon neutral industrial solutions and feedstocks to accelerate the transition in hard to abate sectors in a cost-effective manner. To do this, we must increase the Horizon Europe budget to €120 bn.