Energy transition

Actualités
MOT Publications

Economic transition and innovation

France-Luxembourg: a plea to ‘end cross-border inequalities’

December 2025

Ecological transition

The Commission proposes a new legislative package to modernise the EU’s energy infrastructure

December 2025

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ATMO-RHENA PLUS Project: Cross-border preservation of the atmosphere in the Upper Rhine region

October 2025

N°10 – The energy transition and cross-border cooperation

January 2019

Neither the climate nor energy recognise national borders. Cross-border territories, as players in the energy transition, can take full advantage of the opportunities for development that it offers. The tenth edition of the MOT Guides highlights the stakes of energy transition in cross-border territories. What are the good practices? What kind of obstacles are there and how to overcome them? How do the different levels of energy policy fit together in France? What are the European Commission’s political and financial instruments in the area of the energy transition?

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Summary

Introduction

Neither the climate nor energy knows borders. However, policies are first being implemented within national frameworks, which are nowadays very different and even divergent. While EU policies acknowledge the key role of local authorities, they do not sufficiently take into account the cross-border level. Cross-border territories must cope with difficulties in planning, and different incentive and intervention policies on either side of borders, depending on the level of governance concerned, be that local, regional, or national. In order to fulfil the objectives of the energy transition, local authorities are encouraged to strengthen their sustainable development policies within their territories and even within their organisations:

taking energy insecurity into account,
promoting sustainable energies,
creating action plans for energy,
developing smarts grids.

The energy transition concerns not only energy production, but also transport, spatial planning and the management of natural areas and natural hazards. Many strategies and initiatives can be undertaken in cross-border cooperation in this field. The challenges of climate change and the tensions in the global energy market have led the European Union to set ambitious energy management objectives as part of the Europe 2020 strategy. Furthermore, supporting the “transition towards a low carbon economy” is among the EU priority topics for the planning period 2021-2027.

The EU climate and energy framework for 2030 sets targets and strategic objectives for the period 2021-2030. The key objectives for 2030 are:

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% (compared to 1990 levels)
Increase the share of renewable energy to at least 32%
Improve energy efficiency by at least 32.5%To ensure that all sectors contribute to achieving the 55% target, measures will be implemented to reach it: the EU Emissions Trading System; the Effort Sharing Regulation, which sets emission reduction targets for each Member State; and the regulation on land use, land-use change, and forestry.