Covenant of Mayors

The Covenant of Mayors is an official European movement, under which the participating cities voluntarily undertake sustainable energy sources to increase energy efficiency and use. Self -imposed goal of the signatories of the Convention is the energy policy guidelines of the European Union to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 % to meet by the year 2020.

In the course of 2008 presented the integrated energy and climate package of the EU, the European Commission launched the Covenant of Mayors launched to support local authorities in the implementation of sustainable energy policies.

The Covenant of Mayors has been praised by European institutions as a showcase of multi-level governance, which is not least that it is an unprecedented move, the local and regional actors motivated to meet EU targets.

Signatories of the Covenant of Mayors

All European governments, regardless of size - from small communities on capitals to large metropolitan areas - to sign the Covenant of Mayors.

Cities and municipalities play a crucial role in climate protection, since they are responsible for the consumption of 75 % of the energy produced in the EU, and a similar proportion of CO2 emissions. Municipalities are also in a good position to change the behaviors of citizens and to deal comprehensively with climate and energy issues, as they are for example able to mediate between public and private interests and strategies for sustainable energy in local to integrate development objectives.

By signing the Covenant of Mayors, local authorities will have the opportunity to strengthen local efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, to receive support and recognition from the EU and exchange experiences with other European cities and towns.

Official obligations

The signatories of the Covenant of Mayors give far more from than just a declaration of intent. To meet its goals, ambitious CO2 reduction targets, they commit themselves to follow certain guidelines and regularly submit reports to measure the effectiveness of their actions. The signatories to the Convention undertake within a specified time frame to fulfill the following tasks:

  • Introduction of adequate administrative structures, including provision of adequate staff resources to implement the necessary measures;
  • Creating a CO2 -based emissions;
  • Submit an action plan for sustainable energy within one year after the accession, which contains concrete measures to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions of at least 20 % by the year 2020;
  • Submit reports of implementation - every two years after the submission of the action plan for sustainable energy - for the purpose of evaluation and review.

Signatories of the Covenant of Mayors must also ensure that local stakeholders are involved in the elaboration of the Action Plan for sustainable energy. For this reason they commit themselves to:

  • Their knowledge and expertise to share with other municipalities;
  • Local organizing energy days to raise awareness of sustainable development and energy efficiency;
  • Attend or participate in the annual celebrations, thematic workshops and discussion groups Covenant of Mayors;
  • Making the Covenant of Mayors in relevant forums known and in particular to encourage other mayors to become party to the Covenant of Mayors.

Action plans for sustainable energy

In order to achieve the ambitious energy and climate policy objectives of the European Union or even surpass, the signatories of the Covenant of Mayors to commit, within one year of its accession an action plan for sustainable energy (SEAP ) to create. This action plan must be approved by the local council and should include both the activities and actions that will carry the signatory to fulfill his commitments, as also set time frames and responsibilities.

Practical support and understand proposals as regards the development of SEAP can be found in various technical and methodological support materials ( eg, the SEAP Guide and the SEAP template, in reports on existing methods and tools, etc.). These support materials are based on the practical experiences of different communities and have been designed in close collaboration with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Thus, they give new signatories of the Convention a clear step by step instructions and an explanation of the main principles at hand. All documents can be downloaded on the official website ( www.eumayors.eu ) from the library.

Coordination and support

Coordinators and supporters of the Convention

Not always have a signatory to the Convention on the needed tools and resources to create a CO2-based emissions balance, to draw up the action plan for sustainable energy and to finance the proposed action. For this reason, play provinces, regions, networks and groupings of communities a decisive role if they can assist signatories in complying with their commitments.

The co-ordinators of the Convention are authorities at different levels of government ( national, regional) that offer the signatories in addition to consulting services on strategic issues including financial and technical assistance in the development and implementation of its action plan for sustainable energy. A distinction is made between regional coordinators ( sub-national decentralized authorities such as provinces, regions and public groupings of municipalities) and National Coordinators ( state public institutions such as national energy agencies and energy ministries).

Supporters of the Convention are European, national and regional networks and associations of local authorities who use their lobbying, communication and networking activities to promote the Covenant of Mayors, and to support signatories in their obligations.

Office of the Covenant of Mayors

The Office of the Covenant of Mayors ( CoMO ) is managed by a consortium of local and regional networks. It is composed of CEMR, Climate Alliance (Climate Alliance), Eurocities and Fedarene and is headed by Energy Cities. The office is funded by the European Commission and provides the signatories of the Convention and help stakeholders in the fields of advertising, technology and management to. In addition, it coordinates and manages the initiative.

Institutions of the European Union

To support the signatories in the development and implementation of their action plans for sustainable energy, the European Commission has participated in the development of financial instruments that benefit especially the signatories of the Covenant of Mayors. For example, the ELENA ( European Local Energy Assistance ), which was launched together with the European Investment Bank specifically for large-scale projects to life; and ELENA -KfW, which was set up in cooperation with the KfW banking group and mobilized to complement sustainable investment for small and medium-sized municipalities.

Apart from the European Commission Covenant of Mayors enjoys full institutional support for organizations such as the Committee of the Regions, which has promoted the initiative from the outset, the European Parliament, in which took place the first two signing ceremonies; and the European Investment Bank, which advises governments on investment issues.

Joint Research Centre

The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission is responsible for the technical and scientific support of the initiative. She works closely with the Office of the Covenant of Mayors to provide the signatories clear technical guidelines and templates, and access to them so that in fulfilling their obligations under the arms and measure implementation and success of the measures.

Members

The Convention has the end of November 2013 more than 5300 members, representing some 170 million people. Most of the member cities are located in Italy ( 2629 ) and Spain ( 1463 ), in Luxembourg only two. In Germany, 53 in Austria 11 member cities of the Convention home.

In addition to the communities from EU countries, there are also members from non-EU European countries such as Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine, and non-European member communities, among others in New Zealand, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Argentina.

References

  • European Climate Change Programme
  • Climate change
  • Directorate-General for Energy and Transport
  • Energy saving
  • Energy policy
  • European Union
  • INTERREG
  • Joint Research Centre
  • Energy policy of the European Union
  • Renewable Energy
Efficient energy use Municipality Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (European Commission)
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