European Institutions

Since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic in early 2020, European Institutions has committed at least USD 13.60 billion to supporting different energy types through new or amended policies, according to official government sources and other publicly available information. These public money commitments include:

No public money commitments identified for unconditional fossil fuels
Some public money committed for conditional fossil fuels (2 policies with the value of public money unquantified)
No public money commitments identified for unconditional clean energy
At least USD 385.46 million for conditional clean energy through 1 policy (1 quantified)
At least USD 13.21 billion for other energy through 4 policies (3 quantified and 1 unquantified)

Updated: 21 October 2020

At least

$0

Supporting fossil fuel energy

$0.00

Per capita

At least

$385.46 million

Supporting clean energy

$0.86

Per capita

By energy type, some public money committed for oil and gas (1 policy with the value of public money unquantified).

In addition, no public money commitments identified for coal.

Further, no public money commitments identified for hydrogen based on fossil fuels.

Finally, some public money committed for multiple fossil fuels (1 policy with the value of public money unquantified).

A considerably larger amount of public money committed to supporting the economy and people of European Institutions through monetary and fiscal policies in response to the crisis may also benefit different elements of the energy sector. However, these values are not available from official legislation and statements and therefore are not included in the database. Meanwhile, in addition to monetary and fiscal measures, the database lists other policies and regulations that can also provide benefits to producers and consumers of different energy types.

These public money commitments are additional to many other government policies that had existed to support different energy types before the COVID19 pandemic.

Public money commitments to fossil fuels, clean and other energy in recovery packages, USD billion, as of 21 October 2020

Policies

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Country	Jurisdiction	Category	Policy name	Sector	Energy Type	Mechanism	Value committed, USD	Date of announcement	Policy type	Stage	Legislation and Endorsing Agency	Arm of Government	Primary and secondary stated objective of the policy	Date of entry into force	Value as stated (specify currency)	Value committed, national currency	Policy background	Links to official sources	Links to additional sources
European Institutions	Member States	Other energy	€998 million funding approved for key European energy infrastructure projects under the Connecting...	Multiple sectors	Multiple energy types	Budget or off-budget transfer ...	1099118942.7313	2020100202/10/2020	Fiscal	Several energy stages	EU Commission and EU Member States	Government	To create modern, secure and smart energy infrastructure system that supports the EU's climate goals and the European Green Deal agenda.		EUR 998 million	998000000	EU Member States agreed on a Commission proposal to invest €998 million in key European energy infrastructure projects under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The largest amount of funding goes to the Baltic Synchronisation Project (€720 million), to better integrate the electricity markets of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Other projects include a smart electricity grid linking Hungary and Slovakia (€102 million), and the first-ever CEF grant for works on a CO2 transport project for Belgian and Dutch ports. The allocation of funds is in line with the objectives of the European Green Deal, with 84% of funds going to electricity or smart grid projects. Yesterday's vote grants financial aid for ten projects: two for electricity transmission, one for smart electricity grids, six for CO2 transport (including five studies), and one for gas.	https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_1803 (accessed 6 Oct 2020)
European Institutions	Member States	Other energy	Revision of the EU Emission Trading System State Aid and Guidelines: change in the number of industr...	Multiple sectors	Multiple energy types	New or extended regulation (IT...		2020092121/09/2020	Other	Energy use (all energy types, consumption in transport, household use, buildings etc)	EU Commission	Government	To prevent carbon leakage but eliminate support for "non-efficient technologies"	01/01/2021			This revision to the EU Emission Trading System State Aid and Guidelines replaces the guidelines adopted in 2012 and will be effective as of the start of 2021, which will be the start of the new ETS period. The overall objective of the ETS system is to decrease carbon leakage. The measure will now apply to 10 sectors and 20 subsectors (compared to 13 sectors and 7 subsectors in the previous version) that have high indirect emission costs and strong exposure to international trade. Compensation is available to these strategic sectors because their electricity costs are high due to being included in the EU ETS yet have to compete with low-cost alternatives on the market. The percentage of compensation was also decreased from 85% to 75% and will no longer be available to non-efficient technologies. Furthermore, compensation will now be contingent on additional decarbonization efforts.	https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1712 Accessed 28 Sep 2020
European Institutions	Member States	Fossil conditional	Additional powers granted to the EC to police car emissions	Mobility	Oil and oil products	New or extended regulation (IT...		2020090101/09/2020	Other	Energy use (all energy types, consumption in transport, household use, buildings etc)	European Commission	Government	To make sure Member States are effectively monitoring/ regulating road vehicle emissions and standards in light of the "Dieselgate" scandal.	01/09/2020			New EU rules on monitoring the vehicles on Europe’s roads grant the European Commission added powers to police car emissions and take to task any manufacturers that breach the law. Along with finalising a new testing procedure that better takes into account emissions produced in real-world driving scenarios, EU decision-makers also agreed in 2018 to update the legislation that underpins monitoring efforts. Those new rules kicked in Sept. 1st, 2020 and they include stricter checks on national authorities to ensure that they are implementing standards properly and an obligation on member states to test a certain number of cars that are already on the market. At least one in every 40,000 newly-registered cars will have to be checked. Member states are expected to foot the bill for those tests. The updated law also grants the Commission the right to conduct its own inspections, order vehicle recalls and issue fines, powers that were previously only enjoyed by national regulators.	https://www.euractiv.com/section/transport/news/greater-eu-powers-to-catch-and-fine-emissions-cheats-kick-in/ Accessed 8 September 2020.
European Institutions	EU and Switzerland	Fossil conditional	EU and Switzerland to link emissions trading platform from September 2020	Multiple sectors	Multiple fossil	Uncategorized		2020080606/08/2020	Other	Several energy stages	European Commission	Government	To increase the number of trading partners for the trade of emissions permits.	21/09/2020			The EU and Swiss carbon markets will be linked up as of September 2020. While the original link-up date was set for May 2020, the coronavirus pandemic delayed this emissions trading market enlargement that has been "years in the making." The two registries are not yet permanent and will therefore use a provisional system to allow for trading this year. The EU carbon market covered about 1.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2019, compared to less than 5 million tonnes of CO2e from industrial facilities in Switzerland in 2019. The volume of emissions covered by the Swiss scheme will increase in 2020 as Swiss power plants and some flights will be added to the market.	https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/eu-switzerland-to-link-emissions-trading-platforms-from-september/ Accessed 6 August 2020
European Institutions	Sweden	Clean conditional	EIB loan to Swedish firm Nordvolt for the construction of a sustainable lithuim-ion battery cell fac...	Other sector	Other energy type	Loan (Hybrid)	385462555.06608	2020073030/07/2020	Fiscal	Exploration or production or processing or storage or transportation	European Investment Bank	Public finance institution	To support key European industries and technologies, particularly domestically-produced lithium-ion battery technology that is sustainably produced.			350000000	Northvolt is currently constructing its gigafactory in northern Sweden, where the firm intends to use 100% renewable energy and locally-sourced raw materials to manufacture lithium-ion battery cells, predominantly for use in electric vehicles. Europe wants to boost such domestic industry while minimizing the carbon footprint.	https://www.euractiv.com/section/batteries/news/eu-invests-e350m-in-first-domestic-battery-gigafactory/ Accessed 31 July 2020
European Institutions	Member States	Other energy	Just Transition Fund under EU Recovery Fund	Multiple sectors	Multiple energy types	Budget or off-budget transfer ...	11013215859.031	2020072121/07/2020	Fiscal	Several energy stages		Government	Entice carbon-heavy countries to decarbonize, particularly CEE countries (biggest coal regions are in PL and DE).		10000000000	10000000000	Additional funding under the EU Recovery Fund, but the program itself traces to the European Green Deal. In January 2020, the just transition budget was EUR 7.5 billion, to be allocated under the regular budget. An increase to EUR 40bn was suggested under the EU recovery fund, which was eventually decreased to an additional EUR 10bn. On 15 Sep 2020, the European Parliament voted to allow fossil gas projects under this fund. The Parliament's position will now be transmitted to the EU member states for a final round of negotiations on the "shape and size" of the new fund.	https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/about_the_european_commission/eu_budget/com_2020_460_en_act_v6.pdf Accessed 28 July 2020	https://balkangreenenergynews.com/eu-cuts-just-transition-fund-to-eur-10-billion-in-covid-19-recovery-deal/ Accessed 28 July 2020
European Institutions	EU	Other energy	EU opens up 1 billion in grants from the EU Innovation Fund for breakthrough low-carbon technologies	Multiple sectors	Multiple energy types	Budget or off-budget transfer ...	1101321585.9031	2020070303/07/2020	Fiscal	Several energy stages	European Commission	Government	To fund breakthrough low-carbon technologies; to help restart th EU economy and create a green recovery.	03/07/2020		1000000000	This is the first call for proposals under the Innovation Fund, which is financed by revenues from auctioning allowances under the EU Emission Trading System. The first round is EUR 1 billion. In total, the Commission plans to allocate EUR 10 billion over the period 2020-2030, but this will depend on the price of carbon. Since EUR 1 billion is currently committed and approved, that figure is reported here. This measure is classified as "other energy" because it may benefit not only clean energy but also fossil fuels conditional on emission reductions, e.g. via carbon capture and storage.	https://ec.europa.eu/clima/news/boosting-eu-green-recovery-commission-invests-1-billion-innovative-clean-technology_en Accessed 6 July 2020	https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/eu-opens-bidding-for-e1-billion-from-clean-technology-fund/ Accessed 6 July 2020

Research

The role of the EU ETS in increasing EU climate ambition

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