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European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition

A high-level initiative to enhance cooperation on energy efficiency financing between the Commission, EU countries, financial institutions and industry. 

Public funding can only cover a limited proportion of the total estimated investment needs to meet the EU’s 2030 energy efficiency target. 

What is the Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition?

The Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition works to mobilise private financing for energy efficiency, improve access to finance for enterprises and citizens, de-risk projects and portfolios, and stimulate demand for energy efficiency solutions. 

The Coalition aims to create a favourable market and regulatory environment for energy efficiency investments and to scale up private financing. It contributes to

  • increasing the availability of financial products, services and solutions for energy efficiency and stimulating demand for them
  • improving access to finance for enterprises and citizens and making financial support more efficient, simpler and better targeted to their needs
  • standardising and aggregating energy efficiency investments, de-risking projects and portfolios, and reducing the cost of capital
  • developing and piloting innovative energy service business models
  • facilitating blended solutions across public and private investments, including improving coordination between financial instruments and schemes under national and EU funding programmes

The Coalition’s work aligns with the objectives of the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, thus supporting EU countries in implementing these rules at national level. 

Mandate and Work Programmes

The Work Programme for 2026 was adopted at the second General Assembly on 5 May 2026.

The Work Programme defines the operational objectives and thematic priorities for the second year of activities. It addresses central themes, such as demand activation, better use of public funding, developing investment pipelines and access to capital, but moreover acknowledges the Coalition’s contribution for mitigating the impacts of the current energy crisis in line with the AccelerateEU Communication.

At the first General Assembly on 20 May 2025, the Coalition adopted its mandate and Work Programme for 2025. Its priorities included expanding its membership, notably to industry, launching expert working groups on real estate and enterprises, launching National Hubs to develop financing solutions and project pipelines adapted to the national context, promoting best practices through events and knowledge-sharing, and elaborating 3-party financing solutions between governments, financiers and project developers to accelerate the roll-out of energy efficiency solutions.

Structure of the Coalition

The Coalition is organised in 3 layers and is supported by a Secretariat.

General Assembly

The General Assembly provides the political steering of the Coalition. It develops new ideas, defines the priorities of the work and adopts the Coalition’s work programme. It includes high-level representation from all Coalition members and is chaired by the Commission.

Expert Platform

The Expert Platform translates into working groups, which include highly qualified experts from the Coalition’s membership base, appointed to deal with priority topics stemming from the General Assembly. The expert platform is structured across two focus areas, real estate and enterprises.

National hubs

The Hubs represent the Coalition in the national markets. They are designed as incubators for financing solutions adapted to the national context. For example, they contribute to addressing regulatory and market barriers at national level and help develop project pipelines. The EU countries and National Hubs define their mandate and specific work programme. They are supported by the Commission and the Coalition secretariat. 

The Secretariat

The Secretariat supports the work of the Coalition by providing administrative and technical assistance. At the national level, the Secretariat provides EU countries with specific expertise to assist the hubs in fulfilling their mandates.

De-risking Energy Efficiency Platform

DEEP - the de-risking energy efficiency platform is a pan-EU open-source database containing detailed information, evidence and analysis of over 37 000 industrial and buildings-related energy efficiency projects. It incorporates performance track records and helps project developers, financiers, and investors better assess the risks and benefits of energy efficiency investments across Europe. The Commission encourages all market players to support this initiative by sharing available financial and performance data sets.

 Visit the DEEP platform

© Adobe Stock/ MihaCreative

Background

Origins of the Coalition 

On 19 December 2023, the Commission and all EU countries signed a Joint Declaration on energy efficiency financing and the European Energy Efficiency Financing Coalition. The Coalition was officially launched at a high-level event hosted by Commissioner Simson in Brussels on 22 April 2024, for which a recording is available.

The Coalition was announced in the EU ‘Save Energy’ Communication (COM/2022/240), as part of the REPowerEU plan. In the Communication, the Commission, in cooperation with EU countries, committed to transforming the successful Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG) into a high-level coalition. The need to step up investments in energy efficiency was further underlined in the European Council conclusions of 20-21 October 2022 and 15 December 2022.

Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group

The Coalition builds on the experience and results of the Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG), created by the Commission and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) in 2013. EEFIG served as a joint platform for cooperation and dialogue with financial institutions on energy efficiency and provided the Commission with concrete studies and recommendations on the way forward for energy efficiency financing. UNEP FI remains a privileged partner of the Coalition.

Publications produced by EEFIG Working Groups.

Sustainable Energy Investment Forums

The Sustainable Energy Investment Forums (SEI Forums) initiative (2017-2023) was part of the European Commission’s efforts to

  • activate private-sector investments
  • enhance access to finance for energy efficiency projects
  • help replicate and scale up best practices and innovative approaches

It supported both the Smart Finance for Smart Buildings initiative and the Renovation Wave strategy. The SEI Forum initiative cooperated closely with the Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group. Between 2017 and 2023, regular SEI Forum events, including conferences, national roundtables and webinars, were organised across Europe and online. 

Contact

The Coalition is managed by unit B2 in DG Energy. If you have questions, address them to ENER-EEEFIN-COALITIONatec [dot] europa [dot] eu (ENER-EEEFIN-COALITION[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)