Taking the lead

One the key events that took place during this year’s EU sustainable energy week in January was the signing of a covenant by the leaders of nearly 100 cities across the EU – including 15 capitals – pledging to reduce CO2 emissions and improve energy efficiency. The Covenant of Mayors, launched by the European commission as a result of an informal consultation with a broad number of cities throughout Europe, is described as “the most ambitious initiative to date involving the citizens in the fight against global warming”.

Under the terms of the covenant, the cities pledge to go beyond the objectives of the EU in terms of reducing their CO2 emissions by more than 20 per cent by 2020, by developing sustainable energy action plans. Representatives from London, Helsinki, Riga, Berlin, Bonn, Milan, Venezia, Nantes, Ljubljana, Warsaw and other cities took part in the launch event on 29 January, which was also attended by EU energy commissioner Andris Piebalgs and the then president of the Committee of the Regions, Michel Delebarre. The covenant itself was not signed at the event, however: the exact text of the document will be drawn up following formal consultation with the cities concerned. The first group of ‘covenant cities’ are expected to formally sign the document no later next EU sustainable energy week in early 2009.

One key element of the covenant is the undertaking to inform the people living in the cities taking part in the scheme of the efforts being made to tackle climate change – an acknowledgement that the ‘what has the EU ever done for me’ attitude still dominates the thinking of a vast majority of European citizens. The commission will support the cities by giving them access to the best practice in sustainable energy developments in the urban environment across the globe.

“Cities are becoming the places to deliver new ideas and innovative projects against global warming,” said Piebalgs said at the launch of the covenant. “Cities are also the public spaces where it is possible to find multicultural, cross-sectoral solutions, where the necessary conciliation between private and public interests may be found. The approach to tackling the climate crisis challenge must be holistic, integrated, long-term and, most of all, based on the participation of citizens. This complex picture is best managed at the local level. Cities must therefore become leading actors for implementing sustainable energy policies, and must be supported in their effort.”

Delebarre used the event to highlight a study published by the CoR which highlights the role of local and regional authorities in promoting energy efficiency. The CoR study, produced by French company Bio Intelligence, examines 10 different case studies, in order to identify key factors behind their success. Five focus on energy efficiency: an energy management programme in public buildings in Kuopio (Finland), a building refurbishment in hospitals in the region of Skåne (Sweden), public lighting improvement in Gödöllö (Hungary), a new environmentally-friendly secondary school in Mirecourt (France), and a holiday village in Schleswig-Holstein (Germany).

The other case studies, focused on renewable energies, include a solar energy project at council offices in Ceský Krumlov (Czech Republic), a biomass district heating plant in Las Navas del Marqués (Spain), building refurbishment with combined heat and power and solar thermal plants in social housing in Frankfurt (Germany), ground source heat pump systems in farms in Aberdeen (UK), and biodiesel-powered public buses in Crete (Greece).

The study showed that local and regional authorities have a major opportunity to ensure that cities and towns are developed more sustainably because they are, in most cases, the planners and builders of the public buildings in their community. “They can set the framework to promote energy-efficient products and services and renewable energy. They can also influence energy demand by informing and mobilising customers as to how they can use energy more efficiently,” the report said.

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