Last week in Prague, 200 participants from 11 countries participated in the international conference of CEESEN – Central Eastern European Sustainable Energy Network – where they learned how transition to more sustainable communities can be achieved.
The conference, held on 19-20th October, gathered professionals and opinion leaders from the region to collectively design a path for energy transition by 2050. The high-level event with 25 speakers highlighted the roles of different sectors, and success stories from low-carbon community projects and innovations.
Participants gained insight into the many processes that are needed to push for sustainable communities, such as Sustainable Energy Planning and designing roadmaps. They also learned about effective approaches towards Stakeholder Engagement, obtaining funding and building public support towards renewables which are key parts to effective Energy Advocacy efforts.
Pavel Podruh described how his project Czech Off-Grid Houses, has been successful in motivating people to use more sustainable building and renovation methods and could help to trigger public support for other sustainable energy solutions.
The programme also offered updates about the new governance of the Energy Union by Alex Mason from the WWF European Policy Office.
Sébastien Occhipenti from DG Energy, European Commission gave an overview of the European policy context and showed the steps to achieve sustainable energy transition at local level. He stressed on the importance of citizens in a shared Energy Union where they take ownership of the transition, benefit from new technologies to reduce their costs, participate actively in the market, and where vulnerable consumers are protected.
Frédéric Boyer, speaking on behalf of the Covenant of Mayors emphasized the role that cities and local authorities should play, and the actions they can take. Their commitment to reduce the CO2 emission with 40% by 2030 indicates the steps that should be taken. Because these organizations seek to work closely with citizens, they can affect behaviour change, while also having an impact on companies and other key potential contributors to energy transition.
More about the CEESEN network and the project see at: www.ceesen.org
For detailed programme and speakers, please visit: https://ceesen.org/conference/