Sustainable Energy Action Plans

SustainableSustainable EnergyEnergy ActionAction PlansPlans in Alpine Space in Alpine Space Best Practice Examples Handbook of the Alpine Space Project SEAP_Alps Best Practice Examples Handbook of the Alpine Space Project SEAP_Alps Table of Contents Content 2. Table of Contents 13. Sustainable action plans for regions 3. Introduction 14. SEAP_Alps Training Platform 4. How municipalities implemented the 15. Successful trainings foster the SEAP_Alps methodology SEAP_Alps approach of integration 5. Developing a forward looking energy 16. Action plans for public building system in the frame of a SEAP renovation – how to start 6. Support of the Covenant of Mayors by 17. Action plans for public private coordinating activities investments (APPI) in a city 7. Combining Mitigation and Adaptation to 18. Defining measures with the help of the Climate Change SEAP_Alps Action Tool 8. Adaptation measures – why they are necessary 9. Focus on Alpine conditions – decline in tourism 10. Partner Organisations 11. Pilot Municipalities 12. Striving for the best mitigation approach 2 SEAP_Alps Introduction Climate change is one of the major challenges that Europe faces in this century. Finding interventions aimed to implement mitigation and adaptation has become imperative to safeguard territories. In this scenario, the local authorities can and must play a key role. These are the premises from which the SEAP_ALPS project, developed in the framework of EU Alpine Space Programme, was started. The twelve partners, coming from eleven Alpine regions, had the opportunity to com- pare and capitalize different experiences. The project has developed guidelines and tools to support more than forty pilot municipalities in the drafting of Sustainable Energy Action Plans – SEAPs – whose contents go beyond the field of climate change mitigation by including local adaptation policies, often not yet widespread. In this way the project provides a valuable contribu- tion due to the peculiar characteristics of vulnerability of the communities of the Alpine area. SEAP-ALPS also focused on the key issus of energy refurbishment of public buildings which, due to the reduced financial resources, is often a hard task for local governments. Therefore, a concept for new public-private inves- tment partnerships has been tested in some pilot municipalities within the project. The aim of this final brochure is to spread the good practices developed in the context of SEAP_ALPS, highlighting the interventions implemented in the municipalities and sharing experiences and lessons learnt, so that other local public administrations may replicate them. Silvio De Nigris Project Manager Metropolitan City of Turin 3 Methodology „Be one step forward means taking your land into energy efficiency land, and the ener gy rehabilitation of buildings is- one of the first steps“. Mag. Vesna Jerala Zver Mayor of Turnišče. How municipalities implemented the SEAP_Alps methodology The SEAP_Alps methodology is an important tool for drafting a good Sustainable Energy Action Plan, integrating the classic mitigation actions with adaptation. The methodology is usable as a cloud tool, guiding the user in a step by step procedure. Thus, the composition of the Action Plan is enriched by best practice examples proposed in the cloud application. In the Pomurje region, three pilot Municipalities (Kuzma, Turnišče and Puconci) were selected; and the process started with an official event, where all mayors signed the Covenant of Mayors. After signing, the local steering groups were cre- ated and six meetings organized. SEAP documents were developed with the support of the SEAP_Alps Action tool and all approved before the end of year 2014. Main outcome of the project in the municipalities is the ela- boration of such a strategic document, the SEAP, which includes guidelines and provides the basis for increasing the sustainability of the use of energy. Municipalities are increasingly aware of the importance of playing an active role in this field and the actual natural disasters, such as floods, landslides are the facts, on which the first line of action in SEAP is based. Janja Horvat Development Agency Sinergija Silvio De Nigris Metropolitan City Turin 4 Methodology CO2 Savings “The city of Klagenfurt am Wörthersee has decided to switch its energy supply to a forward looking, efficient and renewable system which will also- be able to survive in economical ly difficult times.” Christian Scheider Mayor City of Klagenfurt Developing a forward looking energy system in the frame of a SEAP The accession of the City of Klagenfurt to the Covenant of May- ors took place in 2011 with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions by 20%. The SEAP in the areas of district heating, electrical power and mobility had been prepared by mid-2014 and also approved by the city council. Already in 2015, there has been a complete con- version of electricity and heat production (district heating) largely based on biomass. In the area of mobility there should be further conversions to the so-called environmental alliance from motori- zed individuals through to urban planning concepts of modal split. Already, in Klagenfurt up to 51% of the paths are covered by the environmental network (by foot, by bicycle or by public transport). This percentage should have increased to 60%.in 2020. The sum of these measures should have reached a CO2 saving of 51% by 2020. It is planned to convert these heaters starting in the summer of 2015. In addition to the achievement of su- perior environmental and climate political objectives, these measures are linked to direct capital gains, as it allows for a massive reduction in operating costs in the heated properties. As a financing option „contracting/ energy-service“ was selected, so that there will be no strain on the budget of the city of Klagenfurt. Bernhard Reinitzhuber City of Klagenfurt on Lake Wörthersee 5 Covenant of Mayors „Together with the need to reduce the green house gas emissions, it was early clear the need to develop a common strategy to adapt the territo- ry to climate change“. Paolo Dalla Vecchia Environmental Assessor of Venice. Support of the Covenant of Mayors by coordinating activities The Covenant of Mayors (CoM) is a European initiative involving local and regional authorities, voluntarily com- mitting to increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in their territories. By their commitment, Covenant signatories aim to meet and exceed the European Union 20% CO2 reduction objective by 2020. A key element of the CoM is the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP), to be submitted by each signatory, outlining the strategy of how to reach its CO2 reduction target by 2020. Public administrations can take on the role of Covenant Coordi- nators and provide strategic, financial and technical support to signatories. That’s what the Province of Venice (IT) undertook in order to support its municipalities. The need is great in the province with 43 municipalities; a total of 44 signed the CoM. As a result 28 signatories have successfully submitted their SEAPs. According to the principle “together we are strong”, the Province of Venice and the municipalities have developed valuable joint actions, such as a database for electrical and thermal consumption data for about 1500 public buildings, a joint proposal for the ELENA facility (European Local Energy Assistance) and a common framework for municipal edification regulations etc. The support of the Province of Venice goes beyond even the requirements of the CoM and addresses the issue of adaptation to climate change, too. One major action step, foreseen by the Province of Venice is a vulnerability map and the inclusion of the municipal water plans within the adaptation strategy. Massimo Gattolin, Anna Maria Pastore, Davide Lionello Province of Venice Jenny-Claire Keilmann Climate Alliance 6 Awareness raising „Our working group will con sequently work on the re - alisation of the measures - elaborated, because only the implementation of our action plan will foster climate mitiga tion“. - Mayor Eberhard Jehle Municipality of Wertach Combining Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change The special focus of SEAP_Alps is on the needs of municipalities in Alpine Space offering a catalogue of measures which help to find out, in which areas of intervention projects can successfully be implemented and where their energy saving potentials lie. The emphasis was on municipal buildings and their adaptation to climate change. Since climate change is still an abstract issue to deal with a clear presentation of its local effects is, an important issue when increasing citizenship awareness. Only if this works successfully, can important adaptation measures be implemented, for example the mountain forest initiative. The Energy and Environmental Center Allgäu (eza!) in its role as a regional energy agency with strong ties to local authorities offered cooperation to five municipalities: Kempten, Sonthofen, Füssen, Wertach and Wiggens- bach. Local working groups supported the energy related tasks in each municipality. A SEAP shows potentials for energy savings and deployment of renewable energy. Practical examples are the optimization of the heating systems of municipal buildings in Wertach, the on-site consultation with citizens in Füssen, new procurement regulations for Wiggensbach, the sustainable model refurbish- ments of buildings in Sonthofen and innovative new construc- tions In Kempten. Hans-Jörg Barth Energy and Environment Center Allgäu (eza!) 7 Climate change „We remain committed to climate mitigation objectives and strive to make Geretsried a lighthouse city of energy turnaround in the region.“ Michael Müller Mayor of Geretsried Adaptation measures – why they are necessary Climate change on a regional scale – was one of the issues dealt with in the SEAP_Alps project. It’s becoming more and more of an issue to link mitigation efforts to measures of adaptation to the climate change, because climate change is already taking place in the Alpine Space and cannot be stopped by mitigation activities alone. In addition to this, the average temperature in the Alps has already risen by almost twice as much as the global average.

Load more