LIFE behind the scenes of the clean energy transition

They may not grab the headlines, but multi-level governance and dialogue platforms such as the LIFE NECPlatform project are essential for delivering the EU vision of a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. The 3-year, €1.7 million EU-funded project which closes at the end of March helps 6 EU Member States raise the voices of local and regional businesses, communities and other decision-makers in shaping national energy and climate policies. 

This is no theoretical exercise - Member States must comply with the EC Governance Regulation, which requires ‘local authorities and other relevant stakeholders’ to be actively involved in updating their National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs). However, only 4 of the 27 EU countries (Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands) hit last year’s deadline for submitting draft NECPs, and the Commission voiced criticism of those lagging behind - as did project coordinator EnergyCities.  

Final NECPs must be submitted in 2029 but, says LIFE NECPlatform project coordinator Thibaut Maraquin, some governments just don’t get the urgency. ‘Cities and regions have long been recognised as clean energy leaders, but national climate and energy policies have tended to lag behind,’ he says. ‘We can help them.’ 

The project team have set up permanent multi-level climate and energy dialogue platforms in Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Italy, Portugal and Romania to design, implement and monitor climate and energy policies. 

Success is patchy, but a 2024 EC progress report praised Croatia and Portugal for involving as many different interest groups as possible. France, although late in submitting its revised plan, was singled out for positive mention — but the assessment was more critical of the other 3 pilot countries for a lack of stakeholder engagement. 

‘Setting up these dialogues hasn’t always been an easy process,’ reflects Valentine Crosse, a communications expert with EnergyCities. ‘Political crises, difficulties in gathering various stakeholders, and the feeling of not being heard by national governments have been challenges faced in some countries.’  

Experts from the 6 participating countries now offer peer-to-peer training to the other 21 EU Member States to help them overcome these challenges and replicate the multilevel governance dialogue platform model. They stress the need to engage all relevant stakeholders, ensure continuity, find appropriate governance models — all while building and maintaining trust with national government. 

While some of the jargon is bewildering — phrases such as ‘vertical and horizontal integration’, ‘privileged fora’ and ‘coherent levels of governance’ are commonplace — behind the words are real people with real passion for the clean energy transition. ‘Writing an NECP is far more than a box-ticking exercise,’ stresses Valentine. ‘It’s a genuine opportunity for stakeholders to align plans with on-the-ground realities.’   

The LIFE NECPlatform’s final conference takes place on 18 March in Brussels. If you would like to join, either in person or online, please register using this link.