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This report by Ember analyses the critical role of electricity grid availability in determining the location and growth of data centres in Europe. It argues that grid congestion in traditional hubs is pushing investment toward the Nordics and Southern Europe, and recommends proactive grid planning, flexible connection agreements, and strategic siting to support the EU's AI ambitions.

This feasibility study evaluates the potential for implementing EuroPACE, an on-tax financing instrument for residential energy efficiency retrofits, across Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The report analyzes market barriers, existing national loan schemes, and case studies of successful programs in France (Oktave), Germany (KfW), and the Netherlands/UK (Energiesprong) to identify scalable models for deep retrofits.

The Carbon-Free Regions Handbook: Buildings provides a framework for regional governments to reduce emissions in the building sector, which contributes nearly one-third of global emissions. It recommends three primary actions: establishing net-zero codes for new buildings, mandating energy efficiency upgrades for existing buildings, and requiring utilities to implement energy-savings programs through energy efficiency resource standards (EERS).

This fact sheet details a EUR 500 million green bond issued by KBC on June 27, 2018, marking the first Belgian green bond from a financial corporate. The bond is certified under the Climate Bonds Standard for solar, wind, marine renewable energy, and low carbon residential buildings.

This pre-issuance verification letter, produced by Sustainalytics in 2018, confirms that KBC's green bond conforms to the Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Marine Renewable Energy, and Low Carbon Buildings criteria of the Climate Bonds Standard Version 2.1. The bond's proceeds are intended to finance onshore wind parks in Wallonia and Flanders, offshore wind parks in the North Sea, an onshore solar project in Flanders, and residential mortgage loans for energy-efficient buildings in Flanders.

This briefing examines the 'cascading' principle—the idea that wood should be used for its most valuable purpose for as long as possible before being used for energy. While adopted in several EU policy documents, implementation is complicated by conflicting stakeholder interests and the difficulty of defining 'value' outside of market dynamics. The author warns that rigid legislative eligibility criteria can distort markets and suggests that a combination of cross-sectoral policy measures is more effective than strict adherence to the cascading model.