Sustainable Energy and Covenant of Mayors in our Cities

• Workshop Programme and Presentations [EN / BG]

The main focus of the workshop was to provide insight into the Covenant of Mayors initiative and to propose solutions for its smooth implementation within the Bulgarian national, regional and local context.

The background, framework and methodology of the Covenant of Mayors were explained in detail. Furthermore, the role of local energy actors was highlighted as an important factor in the achievement of the Covenant goals: at least 20% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2020.

The participants – around 30 – came from regional and local energy agencies, energy departments of cities, national and regional associations of local authorities and universities.

The workshop focused on the development and financing of Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) in Bulgaria and covered in particular:

• Allocation of sufficient human capacities
• Development and implementation of local Baseline Emissions Inventories (BEI) and Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP)
• Engaging local stakeholders and citizens
• Making the best use of funding opportunities and learning from the experiences of other Covenant signatories

The discussion focused mainly on the technical and financing challenges faced by Bulgarian cities and regions and different approaches were analysed. The participants raised several technical questions to the representative of the Joint Research Centre that supports the implementation of the Covenant (e.g., calculation of CO₂ emissions, quantification of soft measures, monitoring process, etc.). They exchanged experiences on how to finance their sustainable energy projects from EU, national and regional funds. The key role of energy agencies in delivering concrete actions was addressed, while the need for municipal energy managers was highlighted.