To meet EU climate action targets, we need to increase the pace and scale of green investments, particularly in the field of energy efficiency. DG REGIO and EIB Advisory have designed a new support programme for shared management financial instruments under the fi-compass framework, called Scale-Up.
This new initiative addresses key challenges related to the design, set up and implementation of financial instruments for energy efficiency (EE) and small-scale renewable energy (RE) investments in the 2021-2027 programming period. Read through this page to find out more about the initiative.
How will it work?
Scale-Up builds on a new collaborative approach under the fi-compass framework, which will bring together selected experts from managing authorities, national promotional banks and institutions (NPBIs), financial intermediaries, the European Commission, and the EIB Group. These experts will contribute on a voluntary basis to a working plan over a period of 18 months to identifying solutions to financial instruments implementation barriers. They will also provide recommendations regarding the evolution of the regulatory framework applicable to financial instruments in the current and next programming periods.
Task-based working groups of experts will be created to reflect on new operational solutions that will facilitate the implementation of financial instruments, based on best practice and experiences from various EU countries. The working group members will be selected based on their skills and experiences, and after consideration of their institutions’ ambitions for energy efficiency financial instruments within the current programming period.
The Scale-Up initiative is expected to formally start its activities in April 2024. The results of its works will be disseminated to the fi-compass community on a regular basis through this page.
What’s in it for participants?
Participants will actively contribute to the activities of the Scale-Up working groups, sharing data and expertise as needed. They will also promote working group findings within their organisations and geography. Working group members will have the opportunity to discuss and work out solutions to their own operational challenges, increase their knowledge and network with experts from across the EU.
Under the Scale Up initiative, managing authorities and NPBIs may also benefit from dedicated support from the EIB to address specific issues related to the implementation of financial instruments in their Member States, with a view to leverage private and public funding and maximise impact.
What topics will the working groups cover?
The Scale-Up will tackle a wide range of topics, such as:
- Cross-cutting barriers to financial instrument implementation, notably in combination with grants;
- State aid regime and notification process;
- Alignment with eligibility criteria and assessment for green investments;
- Energy efficiency financing in residential housing and the public sector (legal framework, credit risk analysis, operational challenges);
- Awareness raising and marketing of financial instruments;
- Incentives to use financial instruments.
Additional topics may be identified by the working groups during the implementation of the initiative.
