How to avoid typical mistakes in Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs)

This document aims to collect the most common mistakes from Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) submitted by local authorities of Eastern Partnership and Central Asian cities and analysed so far by the JRC. The mistakes can refer to methodological issues as well as to the way the information is presented in the SEAP document and/or in the online SEAP submission templates. Furthermore, this document also provides recommendations on how to avoid these most common mistakes, describing relevant examples of good and bad practices. Focusing on these recommendations will increase the possibilities for a SEAP to be accepted by the JRC (without a need for revision by the signatory) Additionally, it will also help signatories to develop a good document, which will be well understood by different stakeholders (technical officers, citizens) and, at the same time, it will lead the way to the successful implementation of the SEAP.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

The Covenant of Mayors: Evaluation of Sustainable Energy Action Plans from Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries

Out of 5600 Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) submitted to the Covenant of Mayors, about 100 SEAPS come from local authorities in Eastern Partnerships and Central Asian countries (CoM East). This report presents the results of the in depth evaluation of 14 SEAPs from CoM East countries, aimed at identifying good practices, but also weaknesses and challenges. The analysis has generally revealed a good compliance with the key commitments, in terms of definition of the target by 2020, calculation of the emission inventory, and definition of actions in the key sectors of activity. Aspects related to governance (e.g. the adaptation of administrative structures, the mobilisation of civil society, or the SEAP monitoring process) and to the financing of actions are often described in general terms, without presenting tailor-made strategies. Good practices identified in the 14 SEAPs are presented in the report.JRC.C.2-Energy Efficiency and Renewable

Replicable Measures for Eastern Partnership cities

This document is aimed to present examples of the measures to local authorities that could be used for Sustainable Urban Demonstration projects (SUDeP) in the Eastern Partnership cities ( Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan). The measures are related to the concrete implementation of the actions in line with the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAPs) developed under the of Covenant of Mayors initiative. The measures are focused on achieving energy savings and improving energy efficiency in the sectors where local authorities have the control and influence. In addition, measures on renewable energy are considered along with measures on information systems to monitor and control energy consumption.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

How to develop a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) in the Eastern Partnership and Central Asian Cities ─ Guidebook PART I – The SEAP process, step-by-step towards the – 20 % target by 2020

This Guidebook is tailored to the specific needs of the Eastern Partnership and central Asian countries, which are still recovering from economic reform. As such, various specific indicators were calculated for the 11 Newly Independent States and a Business as Usual scenario was developed projecting the growth of their economy, and the increase in CO2 emissions for 2020 as a result of a 'do nothing' stance in terms of policies and the environmental regulations scenario. The current guidebook provides detailed step-by-step recommendations for the entire process of elaborating a local energy and climate strategy, from initial political commitment to implementation. It is divided into 3 parts: Part I relates to the description of the overall SEAP process and covers the strategic issues; Part II gives guidance on how to elaborate the Baseline Emission Inventory; Part III is dedicated to the description of technical measures that can be implemented at local level by the local authority in the different sectors of activity; The guidebook provides a flexible but coherent set of principles and recommendations. The flexibility will allow local authorities to develop a SEAP in a way that suits their own circumstances, permitting those already engaged in energy and climate action to come on board of the Covenant of Mayors, while continuing to follow the approaches they have used before with as little adjustments as possible.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

Covenant of Mayors in Figures - 5-Year Assessment

After almost 5 years of activity, preliminary results of the projects may be highlighted. Up to mid-March 2013, 4654 municipalities signed the Covenant, for a total of 156.75 million inhabitants in EU27 (corresponding to more than 42% of the EU27 urban population) and a total of 182.30 million inhabitants in the whole project (corresponding to 33% of the urban population of the relative countries). Furthermore 24 municipalities with more than 1,000,000 of inhabitants signed the Covenant.Among these signatories, 2508 already submitted a Sustainable Energy Action Plan and a corresponding Baseline Emission Inventory, resulting in 1099 accepted Action Plans, covering 45,311,965 inhabitants. Although the minimum commitment was to reduce 20% of the current emissions, 699 signatories committed to reduce more than threshold, resulting in an estimated emission reduction in 2020 of 97,197 KtCO2-eq (which a calculation uncertainties of ± 1,796 KtCO2-eq due to the different approaches that signatories used to report their emission inventories). The CoM appeared very popular in the southern European countries. As such the total CoM emissions of the signatories in Italy and Spain are approaching the national total of CoM sectors for Italy according to EDGAR estimates. In Northern European countries the CoM could gain some more popularity. Even though in some countries, such as Italy and Spain the publicity for the CoM paid off and many signatories were registered, real GHG reductions are only starting. Many effort and engagement will be needed by the mayors to realize the projected reductions. The implementation of several GHG reduction measures takes time, depending on the measure. However, with the extension of the CoM eastwards (into the Newly Independent States) and southwards (into the North-African countries around the Mediterranean sea) the EU-27 should be a representative example.JRC.H.2-Air and Climat

How to develop a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) in the Eastern Partnership and Central Asian cities

Since 2010 the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) initiative has come to involve 11 Eastern Partnership and Central Asian countries in the implementation of local sustainable energy policies. The specific situation which characterises these countries compels to adapt the methodology for the preparation of the Sustainable Energy Action Plans which has been developed to address the European context and which has been widely described in the Guidebook "How to develop a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP)". The present outline aims to complement the above mentioned Guidebook by presenting the main adaptations to the methodology as they are proposed for Eastern Partnership and Central Asian cities. It does this by presenting first an overview of the key principles these signatories should keep in mind when preparing a SEAP, and secondly by indicating the main critical aspects of the methodological adaptation. In this framework Eastern Partnership and Central Asian signatories are given the possibility to commit to an emission reduction target by 2020 based on their projections of emissions for this year following a Business-As-Usual scenario.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

The Covenant of Mayors in Figures and Performance Indicators: 6-Year Assessment

The main purpose of this scientific report is to provide an assessment of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) Initiative 6 years after it has been initiated by the European Commission. By implementing the CoM Initiative, the European Commission has given visibility to the role of local authorities and their relevant contribution to EU2020 Climate and Energy targets. This is the second assessment report in a series of CoM assessment reports published by JRC. As of mid-May 2014 5,296 local authorities signed the Covenant of Mayors (CoM), for a total of ca. 160 million inhabitants in the EU-28, and ca. 186 million inhabitants in the whole initiative. Based on the data collected from Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) submitted by CoM Signatories as of mid-May 2014, a statistical methodology has been developed to select a CoM data set for evaluating the real impact of the CoM initiative. The report provides main statistics of the data set in terms of GHG emission and estimated reductions, Final energy consumptions and estimated energy savings and clean energy production in the local authorities. Ultimately, the report aims to emphasize the feature of SEAPs as a flexible common platform for achieving EU Climate and Energy targets with a bottom-up approach.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

Covenant of Mayors: Monitoring Indicators

Launched in 2008 by the European Commission, the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) is the mainstream European movement involving cities and towns in the development and implementation of local sustainable energy and climate policies. Covenant of Mayors' signatories can benefit from support at different levels: from European institutions to national and regional governments and to fellow signatories which share best practises through the CoM platform. Featured by multilevel governance models and bottom up actions, the CoM platform paves the way for local and regional governments to contribute to EU's climate and energy objectives. By signing up to the Covenant of Mayors, local authorities commit to submit: I. action plan: based on the inventory of energy consumptions/production and greenhouse gas emissions in the local authority's territory, identifies actions to be implemented for reaching the CO2 reduction target. II. monitoring reports: including status of the implementation of actions and - at least every fourth year - a monitoring inventory which allows to measure progress toward the targets set in the action plan1. As of September 2015, almost six thousand local authorities have signed the CoM, for a total of ca. 208 million inhabitants in the whole initiative. More than 4 500 local authorities have submitted an action plan (Sustainable Energy Action Plan) for a total of ca. 166 million. Out of these, 122 signatories, representing 3% of the signatories with an action plan, have submitted a monitoring report including inventories for a total ca. 11 million inhabitants. Monitoring inventories enable to track the evolution of GHG emissions in local authorities territories as well as changes in energy consumptions patterns, and to compare estimated impacts of the actions against actual results. This report illustrates main statistical indicators based on data provided by signatories in the monitoring reports submitted as of September 2015.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc

Covenant of Mayors in Figures: 8-year Assessment

The European Commission’s initiative Covenant of Mayors (CoM), one of the world’s largest urban climate and energy initiatives, involving more than seven thousand local and regional authorities, proves that climate change has moved to the forefront of urban priorities. Its integrated approach is in line with a number of EU priorities not only concerning mitigation and adaptation but also in terms of embracing a robust transparency framework for the implementation of the Paris agreement. The Covenant of Mayors in figures 8-year assessment report, based on the data collected in the CoM platform as of September 2016, aims at providing an overall picture of the achievement and projections made by the signatories in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and the related energy consumptions. Developing a sustainable energy and climate action plan that requires the establishment of a baseline emission inventory, target setting and the adoption of policy measures is already a tangible achievement for cities. This is the first step towards an effective, transparent system for tracking progress and concrete results. Ultimately, the report emphasis that strong urban energy policies and increased involvement of citizens is of vital importance in the potential of urban mitigation of global climate change.JRC.C.2-Energy Efficiency and Renewable

The Covenant of Mayors: In-depth Analysis of Sustainable Energy Action Plans

As part of the European Commission’s Covenant of Mayors Initiative, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has carried out an in-depth analysis of selected sustainable energy action plans (SEAPs). Based on a sample of 25 cities from different EU Member States, the study seeks to identify and extract the common and most important characteristics of how local authorities across Europe are developing and implementing this policy. The study examined the strategies used by different local authorities in their SEAPs, with specific analysis of methodology, policies, governance, external support and regional and national characteristics. This gives us a picture of the strengths and weaknesses of different cities in their attempts to reduce their total GHG emissions by 2020. The study focuses on two types of Covenant signatory: -cities already involved in climate, air quality, sustainability and energy plans who adapted their plans to the Covenant requirements -cities for which the Covenant was the point of departure for developing strategies to decrease their total emissions. Just as important are the conclusions drawn by the study, which cover areas such as: -best practices -circumstances favouring the adoption and implementation of local sustainable energy policies -small municipalities’ need for external support in developing their SEAP -the result of signatories joining forces to develop their SEAPs -the role of the covenant territorial coordinators (CTC)within the initiative.JRC.F.7-Renewables and Energy Efficienc