Aligning its climate and industrial policies, the European Union (UE) is introducing sustainability requirements for the whole life-cycle of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This initiative would not only ensure that EVs fit with Europe’s climate-neutrality and resource-efficiency pledges, but...

European energy policy

The European energy policy research axis whithin Ifri's Center for Energy & Climate examines the major policy regulatory issues of the European internal and external energy policies, with a focus on the integration of energy markets and the deployment of low-carbon technologies.
Director of Ifri’s Center for Energy & Climate
...Research Fellow, Center for Energy & Climate
...Senior Advisor, Center for Energy & Climate
Associate Research Fellow, Center for Energy & Climate
...Associate Research Fellow, Center for Energy & Climate
...2020 marked the beginning of the total phasing out of electricity production based on coal, as well as coal extraction in Germany. Laws implemented in 2020 concluded a governmental process started in 2015, which itself resulted from a prior broader debate on the role of coal in a viable and...
The global car market has been shrinking since 2018. This is a key economic sector for Germany whose producers belong to the Top 15 carmakers worldwide. Yet they are running the risk of being outclassed and eventually replaced, given emerging actors in the USA and China.
European buildings are old and too often inefficient, past policies have not delivered and the amount of investment into energy efficiency must be scaled up dramatically to meet the 2030 targets and ultimately, the carbon neutrality objective.
The European Union (EU) is committed to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Similarly, Norway aims to create a zero-emission society by that same year.
There is now a wide understanding that larger use of clean hydrogen in future can be an important mean to achieve decarbonisation of the European economy.
Green finance has been a burgeoning sector since the Paris Agreement and is at the crossroads of financial, socio-economic and environmental challenges. It is hybrid in nature: it uses financial instruments and focuses on environmental issues, while coming under the wider field of so-called ...
Although it is still marginal, the market for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing. According to the French Institute of Petroleum and Renewable Energies (IFPEN, Institut Français du Pétrole et des Énergies Renouvelables), EVs accounted for a little more than 2% of the light vehicle market in...
The European Union (EU)’s Green Deal is a game changer with attention so far focused on forthcoming actions plans, the Climate Law, financial resources, the revision of the 2030 targets and of the emissions trading system (ETS).
2019 has marked a fundamental turning point in the energy transition of the European Union (EU).
How to Leverage the North Sea’s Offshore Wind Potential? Ifri Green Deal Virtual Lunch Series
For Europe to reach climate neutrality by 2050, the European Commission (EC) expects offshore wind capacity to go from 23 GW today to up to 450 GW, with half of this capacity to be installed in the North Sea, the pioneer region with still large untapped wind resources.
The EU Strategy for Energy System Integration: what next? Ifri Green Deal Virtual Lunch Series
Faced with an unprecedented environmental, sanitary and economic crisis, the European Union is determined to turn the challenges into an opportunity: adopting the 750 billion EUR European recovery plan and making the Green Deal centre stage.
Poland and the European Green Deal: In or Out? Ifri Green Deal Virtual Lunch Series
The European Council’s political agreement on the recovery fund and 2021-2027 budget paves the way to a large-scale response to the economic recession with a strong emphasis on climate protection.
The green recovery, Germany's energy transition and the coordination of French and German policies Closed Seminar
Ahead of Germany's EU Council presidency and amidst debates over the EU recovery plan and 2021-2027 budget, what happens in Berlin critically matters.
Decarbonizing EU’s Economies: A Hydrogen Strategy for the Green Deal Good Morning Live Stream Discussion
EU’s carbon neutrality objective requires to decarbonize all sectors and notably, all gases. Decarbonized hydrogen has now been recognized as a critical element of a carbon neutral economy and energy system. The EU should aim for global leadership in this field while Japan, California or China...
Will Covid-19 contaminate energy and climate policies? Les Jeudis de l'Ifri
A "Les Jeudis de l'Ifri" videoconférence
Spain, the Green Deal and the energy transition Closed door energy breakfast discussion
Spain is the fourth largest economy of the Eurozone, its economy is back on track and its Prime minister Pedro Sanchez managed to set up a coalition in a fragmented parliament. The country appears to be both an institutional and energy policy laboratory that attracts a lot of attention. <...>
An EU industrial strategy towards climate-neutrality Ifri-InnoEnergy Conference
The European Union (EU) enters a new political cycle and the Commission President-elect von der Leyen committed to propose a “Green Deal” in her first 100 days in office, with the ultimate ambition of making Europe the first climate-neutral continent.
Closures of Coal and Nuclear Capacities in North West Continental Europe: Maintaining generation adequacy after 2022 Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtable
The electricity system in North-West continental Europe is highly-interconnected and political decisions to adjust the national generation mixes have direct implications on neighboring countries.
Shifting Paradigms for Gas in the European Energy Transition Ifri Energy Breakfast Roundtables
2019 sets the stage for a reassessment of the role of natural gas in the European energy transition. The proposed coal phase out in Germany may foster its role in power generation. France has pledged to give biomethane a try while expecting a cost cut, and grid injection projects are booming...
Activist hits out at President Macron for taking only ‘small steps’ on green issues in government
Florian Ermacora, Head of the Internal Energy Market Unit in DG Energy, explains how the Clean Energy Package will improve the functioning of the internal electricity market, and how the new market design will help integrating larger shares of renewables.
Deputy Director, Ministère de la transition écologique et solidaire, describes the main challenges for the French energy system at the 2030 horizon and highlights the need to find the right balance between EU harmonization and national measures to achieve energy transition at the lowest cost.<...>
Laurent Schmitt, Secretary General, ENTSO-E, explains how to improve cooperation between transmission system operators and strengthen security of electricity supply, and how the Clean Energy Package will enhance the design of electricity market as a continuation of the network codes.
Innovation as a Catalyst for Energy Markets? Special Address by Andris Piebalgs, Senior Fellow Florence School of Regulation, Member of the Global Agenda Council on Decarbonizing Energy, Former EU Commissioner for Energy, during an Ifri conference in Brussels on...
OAO Gazprom, the biggest natural gas producer, will probably see lower gains in Europe for at least four years as weaker oil prices and rising competition threaten to further cut its profits, a government forecast showed.