economy is by increasing the supply of renewable energy. i see four key factors to drive europe ’ s energy transition forward. first, innovation - friendly and investment - friendly policy frameworks. governments are in the driver ’ s seat to set incentives for the uptake of renewable energies and discourage the use of fossil fuels. it is also crucial to remove administrative obstacles to allow a quicker transition. adequate carbon pricing can be a strong instrument. agreeing on this at the g7 ( group of seven ) level would be a good starting point. reaching an agreement at the g20 ( gruppe der zwanzig ) level would be a major step, although this is a long way to go. a second factor for accelerating the transition are climate - neutral technologies. businesses and research institutions are pioneering the development of carbon - neutral technologies that help reduce energy demand and improve the scale and efficiency of renewable energy supply. innovations like carbon capture and storage technologies are also key. a third factor is sufficient capital from banks and capital markets to finance and scale up innovations. overall, investors in europe and worldwide seem to be fairly cautious. for instance, european venture funding fell by 44 percent on the year in the third quarter. securing a broad range of financing instruments is vital against the backdrop of substantial investment needs. the european commission estimates that additional investment of around 520 billion euro per year will be needed until 2030 to green europe ’ s economies. [ 8 ] most of this would go towards energy systems and climate change mitigation. fourth, strong partnerships inside and outside europe. more than half of the eu ( european union ) ’ s energy needs comes from imports, mostly petroleum oils and natural gas. [ 10 ] last year, 22 percent of the eu ( european union ) ’ s final energy consumption was generated from renewables. [ 11 ] this share needs to increase in order to decarbonise carbon - intensive and energy - intensive industries – this is at the heart of the green transition. hydrogen will play a vital role in the green energy transition. however, hydrogen has to be produced, using fossil fuels or renewables. this means that hydrogen is only as green as the energies used to produce it. overall, europe will not be able to produce enough green hydrogen. [ 12 ] germany ’ s federal ministry for economic affairs and climate action estimates that the country will only be able to meet one - sixth of its hydrogen needs by 2030. against this background, fostering close partnerships will be vital. for

green energy and green finance for a sustainable europe speech at the 8. green finance forum, euro finance week 15. 11. 2022 | frankfurt am main | sabine mauderer 1 introduction 2 fast - tracking europe's energy transition 3 key role for the financial sector in financing the transition 4 the role of central banks 5 conclusion 1 introduction ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing war in europe. and we are seeing inflation of 10. 7 percent in the euro area. [ 1 ] this begs the question : is this the time for green? do we have the means for transformation, for a green europe? my answer to this question is clear : yes, it is high time for a sustainable europe! why? there are two main reasons : first : climate change is speeding up at unprecedented rates. last summer, with its record - breaking heat waves, was a case in point. extreme weather events are causing damage that runs into the billions. according to eurostat ( european statistical office ), over the past decade, climate - related economic losses in the eu ( european union ) amounted to 145 billion euro. the second reason for a sustainable europe is the geopolitical shift. this has sent energy prices soaring – a major driver of the global inflation surge. energy price inflation came to 41. 9 percent in october. [ 3 ] so, europe is paying the price for its dependence on fossil fuels. 2 fast - tracking europe's energy transition pragmatic solutions are now needed to get us through the next two winters. in the short term, as governments are rushing to secure energy supplies, renewables alone cannot fill the energy gap. so we have to make a temporary return to gas and even coal. however, doubling down on fossil fuels from new suppliers will achieve neither climate targets nor energy security. in the longer run, the only way to address the climate crisis and to safeguard europe ’ s energy security is by accelerating the energy transition. there is no way round this : europe ’ s future can only be green! the question is : how do we get there? put simply, by following a two - pronged approach. first, reducing the demand for fossil fuels. the eu ( european union ) has committed to reducing its natural gas demand by 15 percent this winter. [ 4 ] germany needs to save even more natural gas – at least 20 percent. for winter 2023 - 24, some experts put that figure as high as 30 perce. the second approach to greening the