Energy Poverty Advisory Hub Conference

Our 2nd Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) international conference will take place on 28-29 June 2022 in Zagreb under the theme “Moving towards energy autonomy: How to guarantee social inclusion”.

The conference is co-hosted by EPAH, the city of Zagreb and DOOR, the civil society organisation devoted to the promotion of sustainable energy development.

The conference is open to all interested stakeholders to join in Zagreb upon registration.

The 2nd Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) international conference will take place on 28-29 June 2022 in a hybrid format under the theme “Moving towards energy autonomy: How to guarantee social inclusion”.

The geopolitical context and the energy market reality that it creates have made it even more challenging for not only energy-poor consumers but all EU citizens to cope with soaring energy prices. The pressing need for just energy transition is now more needed than ever. REPowerEU is the EU’s new plan aiming to diversify gas supplies, speed up the roll-out of renewable gas and replace gas in heating and power generation with the ultimate goal of phasing out the dependence on fossil fuels from Russia before 2030. The ambiguous plan comes as a response to soaring energy prices and as a complementary plan to the European Green Deal, the EU’s overarching growth plan to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

This shift towards a faster and more sustainable energy transition for all can become an opportunity for mitigating energy poverty. What are the lessons learnt from the current geopolitical crisis and how can the EU, national and local governments work together in turning this challenge into an opportunity for tackling energy poverty and ensuring just and sustainable energy for all?

During the conference, the goal is to bring together local governments, EU representatives, policymakers, energy agencies, civil society organisations and all stakeholders active in energy poverty. The agenda will include a mix of keynote speeches, debates, interactive workshops and field visits that will allow the participants to debate, learn from each other and share practices as to how the EU, national and local actors can work together to contribute to the rapid energy transition and reduce energy poverty for all including energy-poor and vulnerable consumers.

The two-day event will be open to everyone interested in attending onsite. Some sessions will be broadcasted online.

Agenda (draft): 

28 June 2022

15:00-15:30 – Welcome speech and official opening by the hosts.

15:30-16:00 – Keynote speech “The energy crisis explained – How to achieve a socially inclusive energy transition”.

16:00 – 17:30 – Debate “Energy autonomy – Challenges and policies at different levels of governance”.

19:30 – 21:00 – Networking dinner.

29 June 2022

09:00 – 09:30 – Opening session.

09:30 – 11:00 – Parallel interactive sessions (include group work).

• Session 1: How to convert energy poverty challenges into opportunities: Brainstorming based on real case studies.
• Session 2: The role of knowledge and mediation: One-stop shops.
• Session 3: Innovative finance: Is reducing energy poverty really just a cost? Direct and indirect costs, cost of a lost opportunity.

11:30 – 13:00 – Parallel interactive sessions (include group work).

• Session 4: What can we learn from existing energy communities? Presentation of lessons learnt and practices from energy-autonomous communities.
• Session 5: In the frontline of energy poverty: Who is most affected by soaring energy prices and what are the potential protection measures?
• Session 6: Building renovations as a key solution to energy poverty reduction.

13:00 – 13:30 – Closing remarks.

15:00 – 18:00 – Field visit at the Development Center and Technology Park at Križevci.