Abstract
In the context of the EU development strategy based on a climate neutral economy by 2050, an important dilemma for policy makers is how to provide an incentive for companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to make energy efficiency and renewable energy projects their high priority. The aim of this paper is to provide an independent empirical assessment of EU financial instruments and its barriers, used by SMEs targeting energy efficiency and renewable energy. Ex-Ante evaluation was carried out on a sample of 320 SMEs in Istria County, Croatia. The results of the empirical research suggest that despite of a low interest of investors in green projects, the use of the innovative financial instrument would significantly contribute to an increase in the number and value of investments in energy efficiency and renewables. Similar to most of other studies, our results also confirmed that administrative and bureaucratic barriers are perceived as the biggest obstacle for SMEs. It is therefore necessary to reduce the number of bodies involved, improve the quality of information dissemination and simplify procedures.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
