By 2030, the EU will have to get at least 32% of its energy from renewable sources and reach an energy efficiency headline target of 32.5%.

The new targets are set out in the Clean Energy Package recently concluded by the co-legislators. The revised Renewable energy Directive, the revised Energy Efficiency Directive as well as the Regulation on a Governance for the Energy Union have already entered into force. 

As part of this new Energy Union governance, all EU Member States have submitted their draft national energy and climate plans to the Commission with the next step being recommendations by the Commission. These plans will form the national pledges towards the binding EU target for renewables. Energy efficiency in the Public Administration is a very important piece for the energy policy in each country, like other sectors (tertiary and industrial). 

One of the three main points of the European Directive on Energy Efficiency is precisely the exemplary role of Public Administration in the coming years. Investment spending, as a necessary element to increase the competitiveness of the country system, finds limitations in the very stringent public budget constraints. 

The road to the development of a real “public” energy efficiency market is still long;  in fact, in addition to the economic-financial restraints, the Public Administration has a multi-year deficit of information and a laking of specific internal skills. 

There are some mechanisms that can facilitate the decision-making process of energy efficiency in the PA:the  Energy Performance Contract (and therefore to the ESCo) and the public private partnership (PPP).