Municipalities should lead the way towards energy transition for various reasons. First of all, because they are the closest to the citizens and many existing problems can be solved only locally, in close cooperation with local stakeholders. Second of all, because they have tools and capacities to take action:
- as energy consumers they can reduce energy consumption in their own facilities and with respect to the services that they offer to the citizens (e.g. public lighting, public transportation);
- as energy providers they can ensure that the energy supplied to the local consumers is secure, affordable and comes from environmentally friendly sources;
- as local regulators they can implement laws and regulations that would encourage more energy efficient decisions in construction, spatial planning etc., as well as more frequent use of environmentally friendly means of transport;
- as motivators they can encourage citizens and local stakeholders to involve in sustainable energy projects and initiatives and act in a more energy conscious way;
- as actors of the policy making process, they can influence EU and national-level policies sharing their expectations and ambitions with the decision makers.
Single actions taken in all those areas are no longer a solution, though. The energy transition is a complicated process and calls for integrated solutions that would combine elements of sustainable transport, energy and land-use planning. They will help not only to make our cities more climate friendly but also to create more liveable areas satisfying citizens’ various needs.
At our CEESEN Partnership Conference in May, Zsófia Pej, climate programme leader at the Hungarian think-tank Energiaklub Climate Policy Institute will talk exactly about this topic. She gained a lot of experience while contributing to the EU funded MULTIPLY project and she is going to present valuable good practices and supporting tools are now available and to be presented besides in-side experiences.
6*7 local municipalities have participated in the project and went through an interesting peer-to-peer learning process to design their own energy plans in line with the Covenant of Mayors initiative to mitigate at least 40% CO2 emission by 2030.
More information: http://www.citiesmultiply.eu/en/
Want to know more?
Join our conference online or on the spot in 18-19 May @Ptuj, Slovenia
SPEAKER INFORMATION
Zsófia Pej is an experienced project leaderwith a demonstrated history of working in climate adaptation at local level and energy efficiency in the public sector.
Energiaklub is a Hungarian NGO, policy and applied science center that concentrates on energy efficiency, renewable resources, climate protection, conventional energy resources and energy policy.