EU efforts to promote practical moves towards decarbonising the EU’s islands have taken a further step forward today with the sixth Clean energy for EU islands forum. Bringing together representatives from local authorities on many of the EU’s islands, the two-day event is aiming to outline progress that is being made and showcase ongoing and completed clean energy projects on islands.
Opening the forum this morning, EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson underlined the potential benefits to EU islands, encouraging participants to embrace the opportunities that lie ahead: “We know that islands and other coastal regions, often heavily dependent on tourism, are in some of the most vulnerable situations right now. Both, in terms of the climate change and the pandemic. Investments in clean energy can be a pathway to recovery, can diversify island economies and can create new jobs.”
The forum is providing participants with a platform to gain visibility for their clean energy initiatives, to get technical assistance for designing, preparing, and implementing their decarbonisation plans and to gain knowledge on project financing. It is also an opportunity to share best practice so that islands across the EU can see first hand the direct economic, social and health benefits of moving away from fossil fuels, as well as some of the addition indirect advantages – for example in boosting tourism.
Topics of sessions include how to enable funding and financing for islands’ clean energy transition projects. The second day’s sessions include online site visits to various successfully implemented clean energy island projects that provide an insight into challenges and lessons learned from the overall process.
The forum marks the start of the second phase of the process established by the clean energy islands secretariat, with a view to empowering island communities to move from clean energy vision to action and to match citizen-driven initiatives with expert support that has a real impact on projects that are happening on the ground.