Mainstreaming Sustainable Energy Finance and Supporting Energy Performance in EU

Deadline: 12-Jan-22

European Commission is calling for proposals for Mainstreaming Sustainable Energy Finance and Supporting Energy Performance in EU.

Scope

Proposals should address at least one of the 2 scopes detailed below.

• Scope A:
  • Proposals should mainstream and de-risk sustainable energy investments with a particular focus on private finance stakeholders, through actions including but not limited to:
    • support to securitisation of assets linked to sustainable energy with a particular focus on energy efficiency, e.g. through Green Bonds issuance
    • integration of long-termism and sustainability risks, including transition risks, and multiple benefits of sustainable energy into decision-making tools (e.g. internal risk models) of private investors in line with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals
    • exploring the impact of revised risk ratings and requirements for energy efficiency on financial regulations including the current banking and insurance prudential frameworks
    • harmonisation, aggregation, and mainstreaming of existing market practices through de-risking private investments in sustainable energy as well as simplification of the investment process for investors
    • activities focusing on data such as data collected through the Energy Performance Certificates, energy audits, smart meters, contracts with finance and/or energy service providers, as well as ex ante and ex post energy and financial performance data of investment, connected wherever possible to the De-risking Energy Efficiency Platform (DEEP) [https://deep.eefig.eu/]:
    • high quality data collection and/or analysis leading to refinement of investor risk models or access to specific financing schemes
    • improvement of quality and interoperability of data including through standardisation of measurement units
    • facilitation of high quality data collection and reporting for project developers
    • creation of data governance frameworks leading to improvement of availability of relevant data including open access solutions
    • incorporation of energy related sustainability preferences and/or increasing access to financial markets by retail investors
    • development and application of digital solutions including financial technology and algorithms facilitating energy-performance-based financing schemes
• Scope B:
  • The proposed actions should focus on alignment or overachievement of the EU sustainable finance requirements in the field of sustainable energy investment through actions including but not limited to:
    • development and support to implementation of labelling and certification schemes including methodologies and tools for any one or more of the following: benchmarking, tagging, monitoring of investment performance, and disclosure of investment data set out in the EU sustainable finance legislation
    • measures accelerating compliance or overachievement of the EU sustainable finance requirements by private investors and/or companies including support to sustainable energy project developers’ response to private investors’ needs and practices with a focus on technical and regulatory considerations (e.g. development of closer connections between technical standards and accounting and disclosure reporting)
    • enhancement of transparent and regular integration of sustainable energy-related metrics in the market for sustainability assessment tools in view of the variety of ratings, research, scenario-analysis and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) benchmarks that are offered by specialized agencies
    • targeted support to sustainable energy finance related activities by regulatory bodies and the supervisory authorities
    • support to sustainable investment portfolio analysis based on granular and reliable data in order to increase transparency of sustainable energy investment strategies and markets
• For both scopes A and B:
  • The proposed actions should:
    • involve private finance stakeholders, with a focus on institutional investors with a clear benefit to retail investors
    • have strong potential for being taken up by market actors and avoid risks of unnecessary multiplication of already existing tools and practices
    • contribute to the already existing practices or fill potential identified gaps with new approaches, e.g. in line with the EEFIG recommendations and findings
    • be embedded in the most up-to-date contexts relevant to private finance investment. Notably, the proposed actions should demonstrate how they contribute to the implementation of the EU sustainable finance policy and legislation
    • ensure that all sustainable energy investment triggered by the project is aligned or goes beyond the latest technical screening criteria developed in the frames of the EU Taxonomy regulation
    • for actions focusing on data and digital solutions, demonstrate how they build on the existing relevant initiatives such De-risking Energy Efficiency Platform (DEEP)

Objectives

• The topic aims to make sustainable energy investments more attractive to private investors and to align them with the EU’s sustainable finance policy.
• Significant additional investment needs to be mobilised to achieve the ambition set by the European Green Deal [COM(2019) 640 final] and EU policy in the area of energy and climate. The magnitude of the investment requires mobilising both public and private sector, and sustaining the flow of investment over time.
• While significant public sector expenditure leverages private finance for sustainable energy (e.g. through the InvestEU facility), many private investors still lack sufficient incentives and methods to overcome the perceived complexity and risks associated with this kind of projects. Sustainable energy investments, understood primarily as investments in energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy sources, need further de-risking and mainstreaming into the operational and strategic approaches of market actors, in particular private finance institutions.

Funding Information

• The indicative available call budget is EUR 94.500.000.
• LIFE-2021-CET-MAINSTREAM: EUR 5 500 000

Eligibility Criteria

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

• be legal entities (public or private bodies)
• be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
  • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
  • non-EU countries: listed EEA countries and countries associated to the LIFE Programme (participating countries) or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature
• the coordinator must be established in an eligible country

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3BanWaM