q DOSSIER

Local authorities at the crossroads

The credit crunch is hitting local authorities hard. Tax revenue is down. With an
increase in unemployment and poverty, social spending is up. Mayors and financial
departments are struggling to balance their budgets. And now, on top of everything else,
local authorities are being asked to reach and exceed the energy and climate objectives
of the European Union, the much vaunted 3x20 by 2020!
Two opposite The second attitude is very dif-
approaches ferent: the use of less energy
used more efficiently, a signifi-
Confronted with this situation, local cant increase in the use of
authorities find themselves at a renewable energies and a
c r o s s r o a d s . Tw o o p p o s i t e reduction in greenhouse gas
approaches can be observed: emissions are opportunities for
directing our development in a
For some, the energy and climate
different way, creating jobs and
objectives should be put to one
improving our quality of life.
side until better times when there
Why? Because this crisis is very
is a "recovery" and the economy
different from those that have
"takes off again"; meanwhile,
come before: it is at the same
there are no other solutions
time economic, financial, social
except to "weather the storm" to
and demographic, it is a crisis of
limit the effects of a situation
food, energy and climate. It is a
considered transitory!
crisis of civilisation which is tell-
ing us that we cannot go back to
how we lived before. The urgen-
cy is to imagine a sustainable
future - and one that is fair!
500 local authorities
are choosing
long-term solutions
Over 500 local authorities have
already signed up to the Covenant
of Mayors despite the effects of
the crisis! Every day, an increas-
ing number of local authorities are
choosing this alternative route.
It is a real challenge! One of ma-
king political decisions that will
change spending patterns: fewer
roads and more public transport
and cycling facilities; fewer impor-
ted fossil fuels and more locally
produced biomass, geothermal or
solar energy; less money spent on
space heating and more insulation
for housing; fewer exotic food
products and more local produce.
As stated in an Energie-Cits
press release coinciding with the
official Ceremony of the Covenant
of Mayors: Whereas there is a
ge-neral concern on how Europe
will overcome the crisis and
whereas this concern is likely to
relinquish energy and climate mat-
ters, it might well be that Mayors
lead the path for a new approach
to deve-lopment in Europe. In
which case, February 10, 2009
could become an important day in
history.
Grard Magnin
Executive Director, Energie-Cits

Craving for creative cities

It might have gone unnoticed by some of you, but 2009 was declared the

I S? European Year of Creativity and Innovation by the European Commission.

S Perhaps, it would be better to call it the European Year of Local Authorities?

C RI What are cities other than centres of creativity and innovation? The higher the
quality of life a city offers, the higher the creative capacity of its inhabitants. In
e
f th times of crisis, creative thinking, planning and acting are even more crucial to
recovery and becoming stronger.
o
ut
Keeping up the good old business as usual attitude, will not help. European
local authorities are, at this moment, faced with a choice: They can act quickly
o

to solve the most urgent problems, but not include a long-term perspective. Or
ay

they take the current situation as an

- paving the w

opportunity to forge a new path by

greening their urban infrastructure.

q For further information on creative cities, have a look

at Energie-Cits' best practice database in the actions
section on:
www.energie-cites.eu
I n36 I Spring 2009

es
Citi

Fotolia
uEnergie-Cits INFO
p.2
How green is your collar?
In the current economic downturn, job
preservation and creation is a political
number one objective. But what we need are
not just any jobs. Ideally, political efforts in this
field should tap the full potential of green
collar jobs.
These words are already used
far more frequently in the United
States than in Europe. What
exactly does it mean? By creat-
ing stable green jobs, we can
meet several challenges at
once: stimulating the economy
again while at the same time
From black to green
How the Dutch city of Heerlen
draws new energy from old mines
This is why investments need to
be channelled towards green
industries. If we want Europe to
establish a green collar econo-
my, we have to turn political pri-
orities towards the transforma-
tion of unsustainable sectors.
Millions of new jobs will only
City of Heerlen

changing current energy use arise from public policies

patterns, not only for mitigating encouraging the emergence of
the climate but also for prepa- new, green markets!
In many European municipalities be turned into sources of new
ring the sustainable future of
the current crisis has revealed the renewable energy with the first
our cities. Green job employ-
q For further information: decline of once prosperous indus- mine water power station of the
ment opportunities exist wher- LGA report Creating Green Jobs:
tries. Now, citizens, entrepreneurs world.
ever renewable energy, energy www.lga.gov.uk/lga/aio/1509491
and politicians are discussing Since 2008, warm and cold water
efficiency and reductions of CO2
whether to save the sinking ship or from the mine tunnels is pumped
are at stake: from energy supply
not. The city of Heerlen in the up and used for central heating
to recycling, from agriculture
Netherlands and its story could and cooling in 440 new houses, on
and construction to transporta-
calm those worried about the 57.000 m of non residential new
tion. A green collar worker can,
future. buildings and 84.500 m of non resi-
in fact, be anybody working on
Heerlen, member of Energie-Cits, dential existing buildings. Estimated
products or services that con-
grew from a small village with 7000 CO2 reduction: 55%.
tribute to the achievement of
inhabitants into a Despite initial finan-
the EU climate and energy
objectives.
booming town of
95,000 people
No one had ever cial, technical and
legal problems, the
mainly thanks to imagined what this city is proud to show
the mining indus-
t r y. T h e c o a l
lost industry could that this initiative is
more than just a
mines in the pro- one day become. unique local experi-
Towards decent work in a vince of Limburg
had provided the Netherlands with
ment: Extracting geo-
thermal energy from the water in
sustainable, low-carbon world thousands of jobs. But since the closed mines on a large scale is
According to the 2008 UNEP report Green Jobs Towards closure of the last mines in the not only technically possible, but is
decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon world, active 1970s, Heerlen has suffered from also economically viable and envi-
policies to promote renewable energy have proven to be many typical post-mining problems ronmentally sound.
essential for the creation of green jobs. In Germany, for including a severe loss of identity
example, the number of jobs in the renewable energy sec- as almost everything from the mi-
tor has almost quadrupled to 260,000 in less than 10 years. ning past had been wiped out. q For further information:
The green job forecast for Europe predicts the creation of 1 No one had ever imagined what www.minewater08.eu
www.remining-lowex.org
million jobs in this sector by 2020. this lost industry could one day
Hans van der Logt I City of Heerlen
become. With the shift of the politi-
q For further information: cal agenda towards sustainable
H.van.der.Logt@heerlen.nl
UNEP report Green Jobs Towards decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon
world: development, Heerlen has found a
www.unep.org/labour_environment/PDFs/Greenjobs/UNEP-Green-Jobs-Report.pdf new identity in green energy. Heerlen has been a member of
I n36 I Spring 2009

Today, the city is demonstrating Energie-Cits since 2004 and has

how the flooded old coal mines can signed the Covenant of Mayors.
uEnergie-Cits INFO
p.3
 q DOSSIER
Stuttgart, city of the undaunted
Despite the crisis the city sticks
to its ambitious energy and climate plans
From the television tower
up on the South-Eastern
hills of Stuttgart, the view
over the city centre with its
generous green spaces and
surrounding vineyards is
panoramic. But an even
better vision of the city in
less dizzy heights is
provided at the 5th floor of
Stuttgarts Department for
Environmental Protection.
That is where we meet Mr.
Jrgen Grres, the Head of
the Municipal Energy
Department. He is a
friendly and calm person
who leaves no doubt that
his everyday activities have
but one objective: shaping
Stuttgarts sustainable
energy future. One decisive
step towards this goal has
already been taken by the
city on 10th February 2009
in the European Parliament
of Brussels, when Mr. Grres
signed the Covenant of
Mayors on behalf of the
City Mayor Mr. Wolfgang
Schuster.
I n36 I Spring 2009
uEnergie-Cits INFO
p.4
Mr. Grres, what motivated
Stuttgart to voluntarily commit
to the EUs 3x20% objectives for
2020 by joining the Covenant of
Mayors?
Our city has a longstanding tradi-
tion in energy management and
has taken its responsibility for cli-
mate protection seriously for many
years. As early as 2004, we deve-
loped a 10 point programme which
mainly focused on energy ques-
tions such as reduction of energy
consumption, increasing the use of
renewable energy, etc. In parallel,
we had a Climate Protection
Concept for the city with guide-
lines related to mobility, emis-
sions, noise and others. In 2007,
those two documents were merged
into 10 key action areas in climate
and energy. Now, as our priorities
are perfectly in line with the EU
objectives, it just appeared logical
to be part of a European initiative
such as the Covenant of Mayors.
Actually, Stuttgart is even more
ambitious with the CO2 emissions:
we are heading for reductions of
40% by 2020!
that the Department for
Miriam Eisermann
As our priorities
are perfectly in line
with the EU objectives,
it just appeared logical
to be part of a European
initiative such as
Mayors. ,,
the Covenant of
Could you please name two or
three key projects of the city of
Stuttgart that have already been
launched that will be important
to keep the promise and to reach
the goals by the year 2020?
In 2007, we developed an action
plan for the municipal properties
to define how we can reach the
objective of -40% CO2 emissions
by 2020. We have been eager to
put this plan immediately into
practice. That is why from 2008
thermal insulation and retrofitting
played an important role in the
municipal budget. Consequently, a
60 million package has been pre-
pared for schools to be spent on
improving building efficiency over
the next 4 years.
Another important initiative is the
city internal contracting (also
called intracting) that we have
introduced in 1995. This means
Environmental Protection finances
energy-saving measures of other
departments or city-owned compa-
nies. The money saved goes back
to the Environmental Department
until the investment is fully fund-
ed. With regards to the 3x20
objectives, the intracting budget
has been increased by 1 million
for the years 2008 and 2009.
During 2009, in line with the
Covenant of Mayors requirement
to establish a Sustainable Energy
Action Plan, we have foreseen to
take stock of all the energy flows
of the city as a system. Once we
have set up a comprehensive ener-
gy balance for the buildings and
transport sector of Stuttgart and
we know the effectiveness of dif-
ferent measures, we will develop
an Energy Efficiency Plan.
The South-West of Germany, par-
ticularly Stuttgart as a centre of
the automobile industry, has
been severely affected by the
current crisis. Can you say
whether this new context has
rather negative or positive
effects on the energy strategy of
the city?
For now, it seems that the crisis
and the recovery plans adopted by
the German government are, at
least partly, rather beneficial for
our various energy plans. I say
 q DOSSIER

3 million new jobs for a greener US!

In the euphoria of his inauguration, Barack Obama strengthened hopes that the vision of a green America
(and a greener globe) could one day become true. However, it is not only since the presidential elections that
clean technology and green growth are a hot topic in the United States. Long before the recent changes in
the White House, initiatives for a new clean energy economy, most of them at regional and local levels, had
already started paving the way.

The NGO Urban Agenda amongst other criteria:

Support local employment
One of them is the American NGO,
Promote employment in environ-
Urban Agenda, which works for a
mentally sustainable areas, such
truly sustainable New York City. In
as building retrofits, brown field
2004 it built up its NYC Apollo
redevelopment, and urban fo-
Alliance, advocating sustainable
restry.
energy policies and the importance
Promote the maintenance and
of green collar jobs, particularly in
retrofitting of existing infrastruc-
the building sector. This network
ture, such as public transporta-
brings together local labour, busi-
tion, roads and bridges, rather
ness, community, and environmen-
than building new systems.
tal stakeholders who are aiming at
transitioning existing infrastructure
The American
to greater sustainability. Urban
Economic Recovery Plan
Agenda has been helping the city
Fotolia

with New York Citys long-term plan,
PlaNYC 2030.
Urban Agenda and the NYC Apollo
Alliance currently want to ensure
that spending as part of the US
Recovery Plan provides for sustain-
able jobs with long-term benefits
for the local level. They thus urge
The US Recovery Act Program,
signed in February 2009, includes helping up to two million low- tions go beyond national interests.
unprecedented investments in income American homes become The US position in the upcoming
clean energy. Obama envisages the energy-efficient. post-Kyoto negotiations during the
creation of 3 million jobs in the Copenhagen UN Climate Summit at
United States by doubling the pro- By December 2009, we should know the end of the year will tell all.
duction of alternative energy, not only to what extent the US stim-
investments in public transportation ulus package has allowed for posi- q For further information:
infrastructure, and the retrofitting of tive structural changes in cities, but www.urbanagenda.org

that funded projects should, 75% of federal buildings as well as also whether their greening ambi-

Teaming up for jobs

Green funding and energy efficiency
for EU regions How the city of Frankfurt provides Germany with a unique
concept to fight fuel poverty
In March 2009, the European Commission announced it will back In times of massive joblessness, where municipal
job creation by investing an unprecedented 105 billion in green administrations and households face budgetary
projects under the EU's cohesion policy. Another incentive for a constraints, a project such as Frankfurts
sustainable regional development is in sight: Expenditures on ener- Cariteam energy saving service can be one
gy efficiency in housing will finally become eligible for the possible solution. The project was launched in
Structural Funds in all Member States! 2005 to tackle fuel poverty in homes by training
q Have a look at the Structural Funds Dossier on: long-term unemployed persons to become con-
Caritasverband Frankfurt e.V.

www.energie-cites.eu/-Our-Dossiers- sultants in energy and water savings. These con-

sultants give low-income households free advice
on saving opportunities concerning water, heat-
ing and electricity consumption.

The various awards the project has received over the years are not the only
sign of its success: Since February 2009, the Cariteams will be multiplied in
the framework of a national programme called Energy saving check. This
is probably the perfect moment to widely disseminate a concept which aims
I n36 I Spring 2009

at reducing fuel poverty and unemployment in one fell swoop. The energy
saving check, which is supported by the Federal Environment Ministry, is
currently being offered by 54 German local authorities.
q For further information:
www.isoe.de/english/projects/energyeff.htm
uEnergie-Cits INFO

www.frankfurt.de
www.stromspar-check.de/
p.6
 3 QUESTIONS PUT TO...
Jean-Louis Fousseret,
President of Greater Besanon (FR)
City of Besanon
1 Like all European local authori-
ties, the credit crunch has affected
your budget. However, recently,
you voted in favour of a 14 km long
tramway. Isnt it daring?
Greater Besanon has been at the
cutting edge of innovative public
transport solutions for 35 years.
GINKO, the District network, was
designed to the concept of inter-
modality integrating rail services,
Tram-Relay car parks, bike hire
all part of the Town Travel and
Information system. However, in
European economic recovery plan:
500M earmarked for cities vanished
The European Commission has pro-
posed a European Economic
Recovery plan with 5 billion fun-
ding. An initial proposal wanted to
mobilise 500 million for the cities.
With the success of the Covenant
of Mayors, it would have been a
great occasion to send a positive
signal to cities. Now, it seems, the
funding has just vanished.
The initiative was backed by
Energie-Cits and later jointly with
town networks and the renewable
energy industry. Together they put
forward four proposals in line with
the major concerns of cities with a
spite of services and frequentation
twice as large as the French aver-
age, the network cannot keep
pace. Currently hampered by road
traffic, we must go further in terms
of performance to remain efficient
for the next 30 years. Only a tram
system can allow such a perform-
ance. We are not adventurous, we
are simply responding to the grow-
ing needs of the population, espe-
cially now, in a time of economic
downturn.
2 You signed the Covenant of
Mayors. To what extent will the
project reduce energy consump-
tion and greenhouse gases in the
area of Greater Besanon?
Within the framework of a tram
system pilot study, we have calcu-
lated that the project will save
100,000 tons of CO2 over 30 years
by the combined effect of building
14 km of tramway (-58.100 tons of
CO2) and by re-organizing the bus
routes (-38.400 tons of CO2). The
number of trips transferred from
private cars to public transport is
estimated at some 7,785 trips daily.
Those two examples directly show
view to obtaining adequate human
and financial resources:
1. Supporting local authorities
wanting to create / strengthen
Local Incentives, Sustainable
Energy and Climate Funds and/or
Energy Service Companies
2. Providing loans directly to EU cit-
ies and through global loans
from the European Investment
Bank to local banks
European deputies from all parties,
3. Co-financing the creation or the
strengthening of 500 Local
Energy and Climate Agencies to
foster the human capital of com-
the impact of such a project on Since the seventies,
greenhouse gas emissions and Besanon, a founding city
incidentally on energy consump- of Energie-Cits, is actively
committed to a local policy
tion. focusing on energy mana-
gement, public transport
3 Have you requested any state and district heating mainly
supplied by wood and
aid to achieve your operation? waste. This strategy is be-
ing applied to the whole of
We have indeed requested state Greater Besanon.
support. However, our project was
optimally designed from the start.
With its average sized urban dis-
trict (176,000 inhabitants) and a
high rate of public transport utilisa-
tion (24 million trips / year), Greater
Besanon can fund such a project
to a total of 200 million excl. tax
(plus or minus 20 million), i.e.:
roughly 15 m/km, while other
tramway projects in France revolve
around 20 million to 40 million
per km. What we want is a func-
tional project with no frills. We are
now hopefully awaiting the govern-
ments confirmation of a substantial
subsidy, the only way for an area
the size of Greater Besanon to get
such a system built and operating.
q For further information:
www.energie-cites.eu/db/besancon_575_en.pdf
mitted municipalities
4. Launching an Energy
Smart Buildings
Campaign to stimulate
the market for energy
efficiency and renewa-
ble energies in buil-
dings. Fotolia
In spite of its more than
favourable reception by numerous Despite this, the expectations of ci-
I n36 I Spring 2009
ties have not changed. So, the mat-
the proposal was not put to the ter will have to be brought to the
vote. Apparently the state leaders table again with the EU Parliament
and governments unfortunately had elections in June and the Swedish
other priorities! EU Presidency starting in July.
uEnergie-Cits INFO
p.7
 q ENERGIE-CITES IN ACTION

Gabrovo puts energy efficiency

at the top of its agenda
City Council of Pamplona

City of Gabrovo
In the last 10 years, the Bulgarian out for and with different target

A few clicks for city of Gabrovo has gained a

wealth of experience in the field
of energy efficiency. Now, it has
groups. The Municipal Intelligent
Energy Days that were organised on
30 October 2008 can be seen as the

10 000 buildings and committed itself to become a

model Intelligent Energy munici-
climax of this proactive policy.
Just recently, international recogni-

18 000 posters pality.

The municipality has therefore set

Display users calculate and
communicate their energy
performance!
With a few simple clicks, anybody
can enter its buildings energy and
water data into the Display on-
line calculation tool. Within se-
conds, a personalised poster is
ready to be displayed. This is what
City Council of Pamplona
up an Energy Management Unit with
representatives from various muni-
cipal departments. Schools, energy
suppliers or banks are but some of
the numerous internal and external
stakeholders with which it closely
collaborates.
Long-term objectives have been
defined in a municipal energy pro-
gramme which is being transposed
into local action plans and invest-
ment programmes. Raising citizens'
tion was achieved when the inde-
pendent jury of the MODEL Award
competition 2008 decided to reward
the City of Gabrovo as the "Best
MODEL Pilot City". On 9th February
2009 Michael Cooke, who is the
President of the Jury and also
Councillor of Leicester and Vice-
President of Energie-Cits, handed
over this distinction during a pres-
tigious ceremony which was part of
the European Sustainable Energy
Week.
q For further information:

the 350 participants of the Display awareness is also constantly on top www.energymodel.eu
Campaign are voluntarily doing. of Gabrovo's agenda with informa- Christophe Frring I Energie-Cits
tion actions being regularly carried www.energie-cites.eu/christophe
Since 2005 the database has been
growing at an average of more
than 2000 buildings per year. There are now more than 4000 general
schools and almost 1500 administrative and social cultural buildings
registered and in March 2009 10 000 buildings and 18 000 posters
were achieved!
Welcome to the 22 new
This is a very positive signal that municipalities are interested in
members of Energie-Cits!
how much their buildings consume. More importantly, they are In the past months the Energie-Cits network has grown again
ready to communicate energy, carbon and water consumption to and it now represents more than 1000 committed local authorities.
their citizens via dynamic and original communication campaigns We are very happy to welcome the following new members:
(see TCA awards). Many municipalities also walk the talk and Bayonne (FR), Chatenay-Malabry (FR), Figueres (ES), Fontenay le
have made budgets available to renovate their building stock as well Comte (FR), Le Havre (FR), Limoges Mtropole (FR), Lons-le-
as improve their building management systems. Saunier (FR), Grand Lyon CU (FR), Heraklion (GR), Malaga (ES),
q For further information: Metz CA Mtropole (FR), Moissac (FR), Poissy (FR), Ptolemaida
www.display-campaign.org (GR), Saint Nazaire (FR), Tata (HU), Torrelodones (ES), Tourcoing
Ian Turner I Energie-Cits (FR), Zagreb (HR), as well as the collective members Healthy
www.energie-cites.eu/ian Cities Czech Republic representing more than 90 members, the
Portuguese association of municipalities Comunidade
I n36 I Spring 2009

Intermunicipal do Oeste with 12 members and the network

Energy Efficient Cities Ukraine.
q For further information:
http://www.energie-cites.eu/-Members-
Jean-Pierre Vallar I Energie-Cits
Jean-pierre.vallar@energie-cites.eu
uEnergie-Cits INFO
p.8
A shared dream already come true!
3 million citizens build their negawatt power plant
A dream dreamed alone is just a dream where-
as a shared dream is a dream already come
true. Elder Camaras quotation sets the tone for
the launch of the commune-focused REVE
dAvenir (Dream of the future) project backed by
Energie-Cits and Suisse-Energie. With a pro-
posal submitted in March in the context of the
France-Switzerland INTERREG IVA program, the
purpose is to develop projects in 27 pilot local
authorities - all signatories of the Covenant of
Mayors - that go beyond European 3x20 ener-
gy and climate targets.
To get the project under way, its coordinators
are banking on the mobilisation of the local play-
ers through the development of a negawatt
power plant which renders the results of the
Ever thought
of taking the bus to work?
The Ad Personam project invites citizens to commute using
public transport
How do you travel to work? By bus, tram or are
you at the wheel yourself? Actually, the car is by
far the predominating urban transport mode,
accounting for about 75% of the distance tra-
velled in EU urban areas.
So its time for Ad Personam, a direct marketing
programme, coordinated by the city of Modena
(IT), which promotes local public transport in
medium-sized European cities. The idea is to
select at least 1,000 citizens per city who will
each receive an individual tailor-made travel
plan to go to work. The project is currently being
efforts of all partners visible and concrete. The
system will be used to quantify and spatialise
energy savings achieved and CO2 avoided at
local and regional level.
The project is presently under examination. If
accepted, the dream will come true from sum-
mer 2009 for 3 million citizens.
q For further information:
Christiane Maurer I Energie-Cits
www.energie-cites.eu/christiane
Negawatt stands for the watt of electri-
city that is not created due to energy effi-
ciency and energy conservation.
implemented in Albacete (ES), Baia Mare (RO),
Besanon (FR), Funchal (PT), Heraklion (GR),
Lancaster (UK) and Modena (IT).
In 2010, Energie-Cits will launch a European
Campaign aimed at multiplying this innovative
approach in at least 40 other local authorities
and/or public transport companies.
q For further information:
www.marketingpublictransport.eu
www.mobilityweek.eu
Jean-Pierre Vallar I Energie-Cits
www.energie-cites.eu/jean-pierre
The new Energie-Cits
website: members actions
more visible!
The website www.energie-cites.eu has been given
a new look and a more comfortable usability.
The site has three essential sections to which
you are invited to contribute with updates on
projects or people in the form of short articles,
photos or videos:
the blog
the news
the Energie-Cits video interviews
You can find Energie-Cits also in other plat-
forms of the social web: Facebook, Flickr,
Netvibes, Twitter and Youtube.
q For further information:
www.energie-cites.eu
Olivier Lagarde I Energie-Cits
www.energie-cites.eu/olivier
Post-Kyoto: success depends
on acknowledgement of the
role played by local
authorities
International negotiations on climate
change are formally in the hands of the
nations committed to the process from Bali
to Copenhagen via Poznan and Bonn. And
undoubtedly via Washington...
In practical terms, it will be impossible to
divide the Western worlds CO2 emissions
by 4 if society as a whole and especially
local authorities are not fully involved. What
is true for climate change also applies to
the energy crisis and economic crunch.
From that stems Energie-Cits demand, in
close collaboration with European and
international local authority networks, that
cities be officially acknowledged in the
I n36 I Spring 2009
future treaty as major playors in controlling
climate change.
uEnergie-Cits INFO
p.9
 q EUROPEAN UNION

The movement snowballs:

Hundreds of Mayors undertake
to go beyond 3x20
INTERREG IV A: Intelligent Energy
an opportunity Europe: new call
for crossfrontier The 2009 Intelligent Energy - Europe
funding call has been published in March.
For the first time, the programme
A source of funding which often includes market replication
escapes the attention of local projects that will be funded with a
authorities, the INTERREG IV A pro- total of 15 million. It is intended to
Paul O'Driscoll

gram (refer to article A shared support sustainable energy

dream p.9), is available in all projects, notably those developed
crossfrontier areas of Europe. by cities involved in the Covenant
Were getting there: the Covenant of Mayors has truly got under way These funds offer support for ambi- of Mayors.
and cannot (must not) be stopped. Since the first official signing tious projects based on co-opera-
Ceremony at the Brussels European Parliament on 10th February 2009, tion and especially between towns. q You can find all information on the IEE website:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/call_for_
the number of signatories has constantly grown. Several hundreds of For example, for the 2007-2013 peri- proposals/call_library_en.htm
towns pledged to go beyond the European Unions energy and climate od, funds at the disposal of the
targets. Franco-Swiss cross-frontier
Even if the challenge they face is huge, it must be said that local lea- INTERREG unit total 55 million.
ders are perfectly aware of the role they have to play in transforming Furthermore, the dossiers are ma-
energy systems and controlling global warming. naged on a regional basis making
To support the signatories, an office (see below) and several tools processing easier.
have been made available by the European Commission on the
Covenants Website. q For further information:
www.energie-cites.eu/Get-your-project-financed-
q To add your weight to the initiative or for more information: through
www.eumayors.eu
Frdric Boyer I Energie-Cits
www.energie-cites.eu/frederic

Committed to urban
sustainable energy

Energie-Cits runs the

Covenant of Mayors Office
9th March 2009, Andris Piebalgs, Europes Energy Commissioner, inau-
gurated the Covenant of Mayors Office in Brussels. The latter, in co- Fotolia

operation with Climate Alliance, Eurocities, Fedarene, CEMR and

Pracsis is run by Energie-Cits.

The Covenant of Mayors Office, an interface between local authorities

Directive on clean vehicles used by public
and the Covenant, is dedicated to: authorities adopted
offering a response to local authorities on the enrolling process, In March, the Council of Ministers adopted a new Directive promoting
offering support of a general or technical nature, relative to the clean and energy efficient road transport vehicles that are in use by public
Covenant and its undertakings authorities. The Directive requires that energy and environmental impacts
and responding to organisations wishing to enrol in the process as linked to the operation of vehicles over their whole lifetime are to be taken
"supporting structures" or as "benchmarks of excellence". into account in purchase decisions. This aims to stimulate the market for
resource-efficient vehicles.
q For further information:
I n36 I Spring 2009

www.energie-cites.eu/Covenant-of-mayors,1424 q For further information:

Kristina Dely I Energie-Cits http://ec.europa.eu/transport/urban/vehicles/clean_energy_efficient_vehicles_en.htm
www.energie-cites.eu/kristina
uEnergie-Cits INFO
p.10
 q HOT OFF THE PRESS

Pathways to a Low-carbon To be a member of Energie-Cits,

Economy is to draw on the experience and skills
McKinsey & Company, supported by 10 leading of a European network in order to:
global companies and organisations has
assessed more than 200 greenhouse gas abate- u Involve oneself in innovative uBenefit from exclusive servi-
ment opportunities across 10 major sectors and initiatives at local level such ces: individual assistance in
21 world regions between now and 2030. The as in the European Display the preparation of projects,
results comprise an in-depth evaluation of the Campaign general and specific informa-
potential, costs and investment required for tion, study tours, conferences,
each of those measures. u Participate in European pro- etc.
q For further information: jects: Energie-Cits has alrea-
https://climatedesk.bymckinsey.com/default/en-us/contact_us/fullreport.aspx dy involved nearly 400 local
authorities in projects co-
financed by the European
Commission
Green Investing - Towards a
Clean Energy Infrastructure Green Investing
COMMITTED TO
IMPROVING THE STATE
OF THE WORLD
u Discover new practices
which have proved their
Towards a Clean Energy Infrastructure

Being a member of
This report from The World Economic Forum worth elsewhere: a database
shows how the need to shift to a low-carbon of more than 600 good practi- Energie-Cits, also
economy is stronger than ever. Policy-makers ces is available on our allows one to contribute
need to build frameworks which enable corpo- Internet site your know-how and so
rations and investors to make good returns by make a practical
squeezing carbon out of the worlds economy. u Disseminate information
contribution to building
And investors need to understand the scale and concerning your own projects
nature of the investment opportunity presented World Economic Forum
on an international scale a new Europe.
through our communication
January 2009

by the shift to low-carbon energy.

q For further information: media For further information:
www.weforum.org/pdf/climate/Green.pdf
uInfluence Community legisla- www.energie-cites.eu
tion by participating in the
consultation process and
Promoting Energy enter into dialogue with
Efficiency in Europe - European institutions

Insights, Experiences and

Lessons learnt from the Director of Publication:
National Energy Efficiency Grard MAGNIN

Action Plans 0ROMOTING%NERGY%FCIENCYIN%UROPE

)NSIGHTS%XPERIENCESAND,ESSONSLEARNTFROMTHE
.ATIONAL%NERGY%FFICIENCY!CTION0LANS
Managing Editor:
Miriam EISERMANN
Contributors to this issue:
This report is an analysis of the National Energy Frdric BOYER, Christophe FRRING,
Efficiency Action Plans (NEEAPs) published by Kinga KOVACS, Christiane MAURER,
EU Member States between 2007 and 2008. It S?
Vanessa MORERO, Blandine PIDOUX,
RISI Ian TURNER and Jean-Pierre VALLAR.
highlights good practice energy efficiency poli- he C
t of t
y ou
cies, instruments and activities. (Available also in Czech, French, Polish e wa Graphic Design:
www.TUTTIQUANTI.net
h
gt

and Spanish).
vin

Printer:
Cities - pa

q For further information: Imprimerie SIMON (Imprim'Vert)

www.energy-efficiency-watch.org/index.php?id=49 Printed on recycled paper
N ISSN: 1256-6098
Print run: 3,500 copies

EU local energy action:

good practices 2008
EU local
A fourth ManagEnergy brochure detailing 12 energy action
good practice examples from energy agencies Energie-Cits I Secretariat
across Europe is now available on-line. Each 2, chemin de Palente
good practice has been chosen for its strong F-25000 Besanon
Tel. : +33 3 81 65 36 80
contribution to the promotion of energy efficien- Fax : +33 3 81 50 73 51
I n36 I Spring 2009

cy and/or renewable energy and for its strong Q GOOD PRACTICES 2008
E-mail : info@energie-cites.eu
potential to be replicated elsewhere.
q For further information: Energie-Cits I Bureau Bruxelles
www.managenergy.net/download/GoodPractice2008.pdf 1, Square de Mees
B-1000 Bruxelles
Tel. : +32 2 504 78 60
Fax : +32 2 504 78 61
uEnergie-Cits INFO

E-mail : info@energie-cites.eu

www.energie-cites.eu
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