European Climate Foundation

The European Climate Foundation is dedicated to developing and implementing well-crafted climate and energy policies that greatly reduce Europe’s global greenhouse gas emissions. Key elements of a sustainable energy future include: (1) a substantial increase in energy efficiency, (2) a successful transition from conventional to renewable energy; (3) maintenance of the earth’s ecological systems and the life-supporting services they provide; and, (4) equitable distribution of energy services to different members of the population, both internationally and within nations.

Mission

To promote climate and energy policies that greatly reduce Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions and help Europe play an even stronger international leadership role in mitigating climate change.

Geographic Focus

Europe; European Union

Programme Areas

The European Climate Foundation has identified four priority programmes within its strategy:

• Energy Efficiency
• Low-Carbon Power Generation
• Transportation
• EU Climate Policies and Diplomacy
• Global Climate Policy

• Energy Efficiency
The foundation aims to ensure that effective energy policies are adopted and implemented at the EU and national levels by leveraging a network of political contacts, grantees and other experts in Brussels and Member States. Technical and policy advice is targeted at the most winnable political opportunities such as a) creating the regulatory and market framework for large-scale energy efficiency investments, b) energy-efficiency in buildings and c) energy-efficiency in products.

• Low-Carbon Power Generation
The Power Programme focuses on policies that will fully de-carbonise Europe’s power supply by 2050 at the latest. These policies include prohibition of new unabated coal plant construction, support for commercialization of carbon-capture-and-storage technology, advancing large-scale end-use efficiency and accelerating deployment of renewable energy.

• Transportation
The ECF’s Transport Programme aims to reduce Europe’s vehicle emissions by increasing fuel efficiency and decreasing the carbon content of fuels. Initiatives of the programme focus on:
1. Car emissions standards
2. Different means for reducing the carbon footprint of road-freight traffic
3. Biofuels/Low-Carbon Fuel Standard

• EU Climate Policies and Diplomacy
The EU Climate Policies Programme aims to secure pan-European and in-country policy frameworks and political conditions that ensure European climate leadership. The Programme’s activities focus on ensuring that the EU commits to reducing CO¬¬¬¬¬2 emissions by at least 30% domestically by 2020, and that Member States deliver practical policies to that effect. In this framework the foundation uses targeted grants and contributes to the coordination of other organisations in order to maximise collective influence on European policy.