This year’s 20th anniversary of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) concluded another insightful three-day programme of activities. It welcomed a record 2500 visitors onsite with more following online, who attended seven plenary and 50 policy sessions.
The highlight of this year’s event was an exclusive fireside chat, which brought together Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen and his four predecessors to discuss their past experiences navigating this increasingly strategic policy area.
EUSEW was also the setting for Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, to officially launch the T-MED initiative – a new project to speed up the transition to renewable energy and clean tech in the Southern Mediterranean region.
EUSEW Awards recognised people and projects that advance Europe’s transition to clean energy. This year saw a new category: SMEs Driving Energy Efficiency. The first ever winner in this category was the RE-LEAF project, which fights energy poverty and helps to make energy-efficient renovations more affordable in the Belgian province of Limburg. In the traditional categories, Donna Gartland, CEO of Dublin’s Energy Agency Codema won the Women in Energy award and Vienna’s initiative 100 Projects Phasing Out Gas in the Local Energy Action category.
As has become tradition, the conference also marked the beginning of the mandate of the new (4th) cohort of Young Energy Ambassadors who had, among other activities, an opportunity to meet Commissioner Jørgensen as well as the new Director-General for Energy Céline Gauer. Over the course of the next 12 months, DG Energy will continue to support this inspiring and dynamic group of young people, including through a mentoring scheme or information sessions with energy experts from the DG. EUSEW was also an occasion to thank the outgoing cohort with a concluding a policy session they organised, focusing on Energy communities and youth.
