Ember’s four key asks for the new EU Energy Commissioner

Ember outlines four strategic recommendations for the new EU Energy Commissioner to accelerate the decarbonisation of the EU economy, focusing on smart electrification, grid modernization, agri-photovoltaics, and open energy data.

• Ember proposes a "Smart Electrification" Action Plan to be published within the first 100 days. This plan aims to transition the EU to an autonomously powered economy where homegrown energy sources meet 85% of energy needs by 2040, compared to 41% in 2019. The plan would involve shifting fossil fuel subsidies and tax benefits toward clean technologies like electric vehicles (EV) and heat pumps, and encouraging investments in batteries and demand-side flexibility.
• To address grid congestion, renewables curtailment, and connection queues, Ember recommends creating a dedicated "Future Grids" Task Force reporting directly to the Energy Commissioner. This task force would coordinate actions across Directorates-General (such as DG GROW), monitor national grid policies, and facilitate infrastructure projects by mediating between Member States and financing entities like the EBRD and EIB.
• Ember calls for a joint strategy for Agri-PV (combining food production and solar power) developed by DG ENER and DG AGRI. This strategy would align energy policy with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to provide guidelines for national legislation and include agri-PV in CAP priorities, such as investment subsidies and capacity targets for marginal land.
• The document urges the Commissioner to initiate a transition to open energy data and system models within the first 100 days. This would involve standardising and disclosing granular data via bodies like Eurostat, ACER, or ENTSO-E regarding grid capacities, connection queues, and renewable curtailment, while moving from proprietary to open-source energy system models for policy impact assessments.

APA

Ember (2024). Ember’s four key asks for the new EU Energy Commissioner. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/embers-four-key-asks-for-the-new-eu-energy-commissioner

Chicago

Ember. Ember’s four key asks for the new EU Energy Commissioner. 2024. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/embers-four-key-asks-for-the-new-eu-energy-commissioner.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Ember |title=Ember’s four key asks for the new EU Energy Commissioner |date=18 September 2024 |url=https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/embers-four-key-asks-for-the-new-eu-energy-commissioner |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{ember2024embers, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Ember’s four key asks for the new EU Energy Commissioner}}, publisher = {Ember}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/embers-four-key-asks-for-the-new-eu-energy-commissioner}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }