As the European Union faces its latest oil shock and a time where it defines its energy and climate framework beyond 2030, Europe’s Regions and Energy Agencies are sending a clear message: energy efficiency must remain a top priority. The call came from FEDARENE’s Board, meeting in Brussels on 26 March 2026, and represents over 1,000 experts who drive Europe’s energy transition on the ground every day. The war in Iran plunges Europe and the World in a new energy crisis, yet the public debate focuses mainly on diversification of supply and domestic generation of energy, omitting the immediate and multiple benefits of energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency is delivering. It is reducing energy bills for households struggling with high costs. It is cutting expenditure for businesses seeking to stay competitive, freeing resources for investment and innovation. In the current geopolitical context, the strategic dimension cannot be overstated: every unit of energy saved is a unit that does not need to be imported. Energy efficiency is also energy sovereignty. Energy efficiency gains in IEA countries over the past 20 years have cut the need for fossil fuel imports by about 20%.
Beyond the immediate need to consume our energy more efficiently, weakening or removing the energy efficiency ambitions in the post-2023 framework would put at risk the very investments Europe needs most.
“The binding energy efficiency target has been a key accelerator for Europe’s transition. It is the foundation of the action that turns European ambition into action on the ground, and that action into real savings for Europeans” said Julije Domac, President of FEDARENE.
Energy efficiency makes buildings cheaper to heat, industries more competitive, and energy imports less necessary. Without an ambitious energy efficiency target, the long-term investment pipelines that drive renovation, industrial modernisation, and clean energy deployment lose their foundation.
“When we work with residents, municipalities, and businesses, policy certainty makes all the difference. The binding energy efficiency target allows us to say: invest now, the framework is stable, and the path forward is clear. Remove it, and the investment case collapses.” said Matteo Mazzolini, Vice-President of FEDARENE for Energy Efficiency in Buildings.
FEDARENE urges the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council to restate the importance of energy efficiency policies to address the current crisis, and uphold a binding energy efficiency target, ambitious, measurable, and enforceable, as a central and non-negotiable pillar of the EU’s post-2030 framework.
