Energy: Project to foster energy transition in southern Mediterranean kicks off

The project meetMED [1] , funded by the European Union with 5 million euro, developed by the Association of National Agencies of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency of Mediterranean Countries (MEDENER [2]) and chaired by ENEA jointly with the Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Cairo (RCREEE) has entered its second stage, aimed at enhancing the energy security of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia while fostering their energy transition towards a low-carbon economy.

Built on the outcomes of the first phase (2018-2020), MeetMED II aims at improving socio-economic stability and efficiency in the countries involved to build greater resilience to climate change. The activities, which will continue until 2024, aim at strengthening the implementation of energy efficiency measures and increase the energy mix, particularly in the building and appliance sectors, fostering regional cooperation.

ENEA will have the task of coordinating strategies and policies with the purpose of improving harmonization and monitoring of regulations, legislations and standards in the building and appliance sectors, to facilitate the exchange of information and experiences among partners from the northern and southern banks of the Mediterranean, also with regard to financing opportunities and tools.

During the online launch event of the project, which brought together over 130 participants from all the countries of the Mediterranean area, Stefano Dotto, of the Neighborhood Directorate General of the EU Commission, said: "The launch of meetMED II takes place while the Commission and the external services are working on designing new, large-scale regional and bilateral cooperation projects for the next 7 years.

In the last decade we have supported energy efficiency measures in almost all the neighbouring southern countries and we are now focusing on other large energy-consuming sectors in the region, particularly the building and appliance sectors".

Leonidas Kioussis of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy pointed out how the project is in line with the objectives of the Green Deal - which aims to be climate-neutral by 2050- and expressed great interest in collaborating for a better coordination of regional and national policies in the energy sector in the Mediterranean area.

"The meetMED II activities will be key to achieve the goals expected by the Union for the Mediterranean platform for renewable energy and energy efficiency, led by MEDENER and RCREEE", Giorgio Graditi, President of MEDENER and Director of the ENEA Department of Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources, pointed out. "In line with the EU energy strategy agenda, it is necessary to move towards a Smart Sector Integration, linking different energy sectors (electricity, gas, buildings, transport, industry) to contribute to reducing  emissions.

It’s an integrated, interconnected energy system combining electricity and gas, with cross-border energy carriers / infrastructures as its backbone, which will lead to greater flexibility and security of supply. Renewable sources and energy efficiency are the most strategic sectors for the energy transition and the fight against climate change in the Mediterranean region ”, Graditi concluded.

The video of the launch event is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SekhFQH268Y

For more information please contact:

Roberta Boniotti, ENEA - MEDENER Secretary General, roberta.boniotti@enea.it

Website: www.meetmed.org

Twitter : https://twitter.com/meetMED1

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/meetmed-project/

E-Mail : communication@meetmed.org

[1] Mitigation Enabling Energy Transition in the MEDiterranean region

[2] One of the three platforms created within the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) to strengthen Euro-Mediterranean energy cooperation in the electricity market, natural gas and renewable energy and energy efficiency. It comprises twelve national agencies from as many countries in the Mediterranean area: ADEME (France), ADENE (Portugal), ALMEE (Lebanon), AMEE (Morocco), ANME (Tunisia), APRUE (Algeria), CRES (Greece), ENEA (Italy ), EWA (Malta), IDAE (Spain), NERC (Syria), NERC (Jordan). The current president is Giorgio Graditi, Head of the ENEA Department of Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources.