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Conclusions from: Sustainable Energy Action Plans in Estonia 12 October 2011, Tartu, Estonia
ManagEnergy Workshops Programme - Estonia Workshop Conclusions
It can be done! That was the inspirational message from the Mayor of Rakvere city, Mr Andres Jaadla, showing other Estonian municipalities how Rakvere’s political determination and “can-do” approach to creating a sustainable energy city has seen Rakvere become the country’s standard bearer in terms of financing and implementing sustainable energy projects from its Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP).
Summary
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Find out more on the ManagEnergy website: http://www.managenergy.net/workshop_2011_tartu.html
It can be done! That was the inspirational message from the Mayor of Rakvere city, Mr Andres Jaadla, showing other Estonian municipalities how Rakvere’s political determination and “can-do” approach to creating a sustainable energy city has seen Rakvere become the country’s standard bearer in terms of financing and implementing sustainable energy projects from its Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP).
This was the concluding presentation from the ManagEnergy capacity building workshop held in Tartu, Estonia on the 12th October 2011 last. Some 30 participants were present in addition to workshop speakers, with participants coming primarily from municipalities across the country, local and regional energy agencies and other local energy actors such as universities and NGOs. The workshop’s focus was on building understanding of the benefits of sustainable energy planning, and in the development and financing of Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) in Estonia, and covered: a) benefits and good practice examples from abroad regarding Sustainable Energy planning and SEAP development, b) The Covenant of Mayors Initiative and SEAP development under the COM framework, c) current status, challenges and opportunities regarding sustainable energy planning and SEAP development in Estonia, and d) EU financing for SEAP implementation.
The workshop included presentations on sustainable energy planning, the CoM initiative and SEAP development experience under the CoM from a variety of EU Member State Regions, including the Zeeland region in Denmark and the Kaunas region in Lithuania, presented by Mr. Nils Daugaard and Mr. Feliksas Zinevicius respectively. Mr. Marek Muiste (Tartu Regional Energy Agency) and Mr. Aare Vabamagi (Kredex Bank) led an interactive session on the current status and experience regarding sustainable energy planning in Estonia, and the benefits, challenges and opportunities going forward. Mr. Hans Gulliksson and Ms. Lisa Walitalo from the Energy Agency for South East Sweden (Energikontor Sydost) provide workshop participants with the opportunity to see how a regional-level SEAP development process could be orchestrated, and the operational and process-related structures and practices required. Mr. Seán Burke, who provided an overview of the rapidly evolving EU financing landscape for sustainable energy, again taking up the theme of the possibilities and benefits of inter-municipal cooperation, which was reinforced by Mr. Nils Daugaard who presented examples of inter-municipal cooperation among cities in successfully applying for ELENA financing support. Notwithstanding the opportunities, the discussion revealed that there is a need for a further investigation as how to make these schemes work in the Estonian environment, for example putting in place financing instruments for small scale investments and capacity-building to enable local authorities working together to access such funds.
The final workshop programme showed Rakvere’s achievements in implementing parts of its SEAP, despite limited human resource capacities in the municipal administration and often limited available financing. This presentation provided valuable inspiration for other municipalities of what is possible if the political will and vision is there, and provided plenty of food for thought for local municipalities as they prepared for the follow-up Day 2 ENNEREG workshop. This follow-up Day 2 ENNEREG workshop focused more in-depth on sustainable energy planning during, and provided a valuable complement the ManagEnergy workshop, allowing participants to receive further in-depth training on sustainable energy planning, and continue the discussion on how participants can take action to leverage this new-found learning and capacities. One immediate impact of the ManagEnergy workshop will be the organization of a follow-up capacity building seminar and study tour programme to Sweden for Estonian municipalities and sustainable energy actors, which is scheduled to happen during Q1 2012.
ManagEnergy makes a final thanks to our local workshop partner and host Tartu Regional Energy Agency, and ManagEnergy's other local and international partners Kredex and ENNEREG Regions 202020.
Related Information on the Regions 202020 Website:
- Region(s)/Community(ies): EE: Tartu County (Tartu maakond)
- Country(ies): Estonia
Last updated: 26/10/2011 6:23pm - Contact: Katy HALL -
