Islands were in the spotlight at the European Sustainable Energy Week in Brussels from 17-20 June 2019. In three dedicated sessions, island stakeholders and EU policymakers had the opportunity to exchange experiences and discuss challenges and opportunities related to the clean energy transition on EU islands, and how their work can serve as an example for Europe as a whole.
The Clean Energy for EU Islands Secretariat co-hosted two of the sessions with a focus on islands, and participated in a panel discussion on transitioning to 100% renewable energy.
Islands as lighthouses of Europe’s decarbonisation
Together with the Aegean Energy & Environment Agency and the DAFNI Network, the Secretariat hosted a session on 18 June which showcased inspiring examples from France (Iles du Ponant), Portugal (Azores), Spain (Menorca), Scotland (Orkney), Greece (Kythnos), Croatia (Unije), Ireland (Cape Clear), Italy (Favignana) and Sweden (Gotland). In their presentations, the speakers identified a range of technical, regulatory and societal challenges. Following an interactive voting session where participants were able to select the most important challenges, policy and technical experts responded to the challenges identified, highlighting initiatives and solutions that could help islands respond to these challenges. You can find more details on the islands' clean energy projects in the presentations below.
Presentations 18 June
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Menorca (coming soon) |
Orkney (coming soon) |
Unije (coming soon) |
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Favignana (coming soon) |
Kythnos (coming soon) |
Gotland (coming soon) |
EU islands progress and prospects
On 20 June, an event co-hosted by the European Commission and the Secretariat delved deeper into the initiatives and challenges islands are tackling across different levels of governance and with a diverse set of actors. Following an introduction on the EU Islands Initiative by the European Commission, and emphasized the need for a long-term framework for islands which is controlled by islanders and provides them with the necessary resources.
The Outermost Regions presented their various initiatives, highlighting the challenges specific to the islands that are part of the OMR. A specific focus was put on the self-erecting wind turbines planned in the Canary Islands. Croatia highlighted the lighthouse function Croatian islands can have in the clean energy transition, and provided an outlook on the collaboration between the Commission and the Croatian EU Presidency in 2019.
The Clean Energy for EU Islands Secretariat presented its activities in bringing together and strengthening the network of EU islands. It invited islands and supporting organisations to register to the initiative’s online engagement platform.
The session further featured a number of presentations from La Palma (Spain), the Aran Islands (Ireland), Culatra (Portugal), Salina (Italy) and Cape Clear (Ireland). The presentations are available below.
Presentations from 20 June will be available soon.