Advocating for Sustainable Energy in Central and Eastern Europe : updated version 2018
Full text ; The movement towards sustainable energy has been on the European Union's agenda for a very long time and after the ratification of the Paris Agreement in November 2016 the transition to low-carbon economy became even more essential goal throughout all sectors not just energy. Cross-sector co-operation is needed for achieving the aim of reducing the CO2 emissions to keep the global temperatures from rising. It is crucial to put more effort into moving towards sustainable growth and limit climate change. Innovation and the accelerated deployment of low cost renewable energy, energy efficiency, widespread electrification and the smart use of information and communications technologies are seen as essential to accelerating energy transition. The energy transition towards a decarbonized economy has benefits that reach beyond climate change mitigation. However, a broad and coherent mix of policies is needed to reap the positive economic, social and environmental impacts of the energy transition. Energy sector transition could bring about important co-benefits, such as less air pollution, lower dependence on imported (fossil) fuels and lower household energy expenditures, the latter helping to solve the energy poverty issue, relevant especially in Eastern Europe, which is often left aside. This energy transition will not happen by itself. There is a critical role for governments to create policy frameworks that enable long-term development of the sustainable energy sector and ensure a favourable environment for the transition to reduce carbon intensity. However, lack of public support could hinder this process by driving costs up and delaying necessary actions needed for switching to low carbon economy. Public opposition is considered to be a major impediment in the EU policies. Therefore, improving stakeholder engagement, strengthening public participation processes and bottom-up movement in policy development could be seen as one of the key solutions. The PANEL2050 project "Partnership for New Energy Leadership" aims to strengthen stakeholders acting in the renewable energy field to speed up the generation of sustainable energy policies and lead the regional movement towards low-carbon economy. Trained professionals leading the efficient stakeholder engagement in energy advocacy and policy development process will ensure the development, implementation and continuity of the sustainable energy policies. The aim of current guidebook is to provide guidance on how organisations can develop efficient energy advocacy activities, including stakeholder engagement, roadmapping, marketing and communications, fundraising and policy analysis. These skills will empower and enhance the co-operation in the sustainable energy sector. Finding a path towards sustainable development will require the pooling of diverse perspectives, knowledge and resources. The purpose of this handbook is to be a practical guide targeted for Central and Eastern European countries. The hope is that a wide spectrum of users can take it up and adapt the content to their own circumstances. This handbook is intended to be used by a whole organisation or for individual projects or processes. Organisations who are just beginning to engage will find guidance on how to start approaching stakeholder engagement, whilst those who are already engaging with their stakeholders will also find it useful for identifying possibilities for improvement and/or further systematisation. You can adapt it to your individual, project specific or organisational needs, by following the whole methodology or by selecting specific topics from the guidebook. The structure of the handbook provides guidance for most major activities that you will have to make when considering and undertaking energy advocacy. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 696173. ; This publication is compiled within the PANEL2050 project "Partnership for New Energy Leadership". This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No 696173. Disclaimer: The sole responsibility for the content of this material lies with the authors. It does not necessarily represent the views of the European Union and neither EASME nor the European Commission are responsible for any use of this material.