By REScoop.eu & Friends of the Earth

With the conclusion of the EU’s 2030 climate and energy legislative framework, there are now more opportunities than ever for citizens to get involved in the energy transition. First things first though. Before Member States write new rules that give effect to new rights and supportive frameworks for energy citizens and communities, they must decide high level objectives for renewables, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. This process also creates space for establishing high level support for citizen participation in the energy market. That is where you, the European citizen, come in.

National governments are required to deliver final National Climate and Energy Plans, or ‘NECPs’ by the end of 2019. All Member States have already submitted there draft national plans, which are available on the EU Commission’s website.

The new Energy Union Governance Regulation (Governance Regulation) contains requirements for what governments must include in their NECPs. Specifically, the Governance Regulation has a Template that Member States must follow while developing their NECPs.2 Member States are also required to involve citizens so that they can express their views regarding the NECPs.

In this briefing, we present the main opportunities (both substantive and procedural) available for citizens to influence what goes into Member States’ NECPs.