For the first time, European and African scientists and policy makers are meeting to better understand the constraints and demands from both the scientific and the policymaking perspective and to develop together new skills in using evidence to inform policy. This capacity building evidence and policy event focusing on water-energy-food security nexus is organised jointly by the EU and African Union (AU), together with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and takes place at the JRC site, in Ispra, Italy, on 31 August – 2 September.

A steady decline in energy consumption in the period from 2000 to 2014 has lowered EU final energy consumption from 1133 Mtoe in 2000 to 1061 Mtoe in 2014, according to a JRC report. This puts the consumption below the indicative targets for 2020, set to 1,086 Mtoe by the European Energy Efficiency Directive. The saving achieved is equivalent to the whole energy consumption of Finland in 2014.