By gathering the most up-to-date energy and climate-related news, policy updates, and events in a weekly document, the EERA Weekly Policy Update (WPU) represents a comprehensive tool at the service of the EERA community.

Delivered every week, the brief provides up-to-date news and information in the sustainable and clean energy field to keep the community informed. Besides the latest European policy developments, the sources consulted include reports and publications from the European Institutions and international agencies working on climate and clean energy research.  

Alongside sector-specific news, the WPU also provides an outline of the upcoming EU Institutional Agenda and a list of energy R&I related events organised by community members and external stakeholders.  

The following are the main takeaways from the recently published editions, classified by month:  

March

• 29 March - The Council of the EU adopted the 8th Environmental Action Programme (EAP), which will serve as a guide for environmental policymaking and implementation until 2030.
• 30 March - The European Commission presented a package of European Green Deal proposals to make sustainable products the norm in the EU, boost circular business models and empower consumers for the green transition.

April 

• 7 April - EU Member States adopted the fifth package proposal on further sanctions towards Russia, including a full oil embargo.
• 7 April - The first virtual meeting of the established EU Platform for the common purchase of gas, LNG and hydrogen was held, chaired by Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General for Energy at the European Commission.
• 8 April - The European Commission published the first industrial technology roadmap under the new European Research Area (ERA). The document sketches out the key technologies and the means to transfer them to the industrial ecosystem for energy-intensive industries at EU and national levels.
• 22 April - The European Commission marked Earth Day 2022 with a Climate Pact pledge to become climate neutral by 2030, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by around 60% compared to 2005 levels and compensating the remaining emissions with carbon removals.
• 28 April - The European Commission announced the 100 EU cities that will participate in the EU Mission for 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. The Cities Mission will receive €360 million of Horizon Europe funding, corresponding to 2022-23, to start the innovation paths towards climate neutrality by 2030.
• 29 April - The EU Commission performed a thematic analysis of R&I measures in the Recovery and Resilience Plans (RRPs) of the EU member states, as submitted under the umbrella of the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. The RRPs foresee 224 measures directly related to R&I, 55 reforms and 169 investment plans for a budget of around €44.4 billion.

May

• 4 May - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. The package proposes a complete ban on Russian oil imports, with possible exceptions for Hungary and Slovakia.
• 10 May - The Commission has agreed to increase the HEU budget for 2022 by nearly €562 million to support further EU Missions towards innovative solutions to green, health and digital challenges.
• 11 May - Lawmakers representing a broad majority of the European Parliament’s environment committee backed most of the proposed changes to the EU policies for reducing planet-warming emissions. The lawmakers agreed to apply the ETS (EU Emissions Trading System) scheme to commercial entities from 2025 and only extend it to private consumers in 2029 if certain conditions are met.
• 18 May - the Commission unveiled its REPowerEU Plan to detach from Russian fossil fuels. The REPowerEU Plan has a twofold objective: ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and driving the green transition forward.
• 18 May - To support the goals of the REPowerEU, the EU has published a series of additional documents related to the energy transition: the EU Save Energy Communication and the Joint communication on EU external energy engagement. On top of that, the EU Solar Strategy plan was announced to massively upscale solar power capacity in the EU by 2030.
• 25 May - The Commission set up a new Task Force within its Directorate-General for Energy to support the EU Energy Platform and implement the REPowerEU goal of supply diversification. The new Task Force will help deliver on the REPowerEU objective of reducing the dependence on Russian fossil fuels.