Towards a sustainable energy future: European Commission launches first Sustainable Energy Week

Following the launch, on 10 January, of the proposal for a new Energy Policy for Europe, the European Commission will launch on Monday the first EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW), a series of events that will bring together 44 stakeholders. The participants in this first EUSEW cover most sectors of activity in renewable sources of energy and in energy efficiency, at all levels of responsibility: public and private, European, international, national, regional and local. Its major aim is to set the basis for the accomplishment of the measures necessary to implement two key pillars of the proposed new Energy Policy: accelerating the shift to low carbon energy and boosting energy efficiency. "Energy Policy is not only about legislation, but also about communicating, hearing, and bringing together all stakeholders. With the EU Sustainable Energy Week, the Commission leads the most willing stakeholders to undertake together a real European energy revolution", said Energy Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs.

The series of 44 events organised in Brussels and other cities brings together organisations from all over the European Union to exchange ideas on how to develop the sector and the many industries that will help in its development. The week is the central part of an ongoing programme of more than forty Energy days held throughout the year that promote the idea of sustainable energy to EU citizens. The Week is the first major initiative jointly undertaken by the European institutions and a wide array of private and public authorities.

At the centre of week is a growing public/private partnership, as businesses involved in the production of new forms of energy will be able to link up with various governmental bodies from all over Europe and members of the academic world. They will discuss the latest ideas and developments in the field of sustainable energy, proving that energy efficiency and renewables are Europe-wide endeavours. On top of that, new EU programmes and initiatives, such as Intelligent Energy-Europe, complementing the recently presented proposal for a new Energy Policy for Europe, will be presented. The EUSEW links to national activities: the Spanish Renewable Energy Week, held at Murcia, the Assisses de l'Energie, held at Grenoble, or the TalkEnergy event, held at Wels, are part of the EUSEW.