Covenant of Mayors in the Central Baltic Capitals (COMBAT)
Covenant of Mayors in the Central Baltic Capitals
(COMBAT)
Start date: Sep 30, 2009,
End date: Aug 31, 2011
PROJECT
FINISHED
The climate challenge is a burning problem with no single solutions. The Central Baltic Capitals are struggling with many aspects in their environmental strategies. Energy savings includes all sectors, which is a challenge for the cities. By signing the Covenant of Mayors, the Central Baltic Capitals expressed their ambition by the formal commitment of going beyond the objectives of the EU in terms of reducing their CO2 emission with more than 20% by 2020. Actions need to be taken and there is not much space for trial and error. By joining forces and exchange experience and ideas in the implementation of the Covenant, the partners can support each other in their search for adequate indicators for climate work and in where the potentials are for the greatest environmental impact, how to calculate emissions and how to avoid less successful attempts. Thus, the four Central Baltic Capitals that are partners in the COMBAT project will reach further in their strategies for the climate work. Strategies will be structured in Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) with input from the public, according to the Covenant. Citizens will also be informed on the achievements of their respective cities through periodic reports, Energy Days etc. COMBAT will compare the work done in the partner cities, in order to assure quality and fine-tune the strategies in WP2. When profiling the Central Baltic Capitals as leaders in the actions for energy efficiency and against climate change, the WP4 joint event in Brussels during Energy Week 2011 will be crucial for conveying the project experience to important stakeholders on the Brussels arena. The COMBAT project will also achieve public awareness during WP4 regarding behaviour and climate change and energy efficiency. The public will be engaged through large public events called Energy Days in WP3, throug a pilot project in Helsinki targeted to the households and through a specific seminar and general dissemination activities. The cooperation around energy efficiency and climate change will result in a network for sharing experiences between the capitals in thecentral BSR. It will also constitute a Guideline of the Central Baltic Capitals experience for other cities that would like to join the covenant, as a hands-on, practical document of experiences. COMBAT will also give a conclusion to present to the European Commission as a Central Baltic contribution to the evaluation of the progress within the Covenant of Mayors. COMBAT will show how this work can be done together as a region with the local level as the main actors, profiling the region in EU:s climate agreement. The COMBAT Joint Event in Brussels during Energy Week 2011 will convey the message that the Central Baltic Capitals take implementing the Covenant of Mayors and efficient climate work seriously. Achievements: The COMBAT project improved the development of the cities’ sustainable energy action plans and supported the cities in finding adequate indicators in their climate work through increased cooperation with regard to the implementation of the Covenant of the Mayors. The project analysed and fine-tuned the sustainable energy action plans of the participating cities with input from the general public. By organising local energy days and participating in the Energy Days in Brussels, the cities increased the knowledge of both the general public and decision-makers with regard to energy efficiency. Furthermore, the cities carried out pilot activities and established a network for sharing experiences between capital cities.
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