Press releases

This is a new, logical step in the Association’s life since the 30 proposals for the energy transition of towns and cities have been published last year: Energy Cities becomes today the European Association for local authorities in energy transition!

The European Commission has overlooked the importance of an energy savings target in a green paper that launches a public consultation on a 2030 framework for climate and energy policy. The green paper instead focuses on a ‘quick fix’ approach that would fail to deliver the structural changes that the EU needs to boost competitiveness and manage spiking energy prices.

According to the Heat Coalition, a platform gathering 11 European associations with a stake in the heating and cooling sector, the forthcoming climate and energy policy framework must adequately address the future role of the heating and cooling sector, as it accounts for no less than 45% of the final energy consumption in Europe today.

Today, in its approval of the report on the Energy Roadmap 2050,
the European Parliament voted in favour of setting three post-2020 targets for energy
efficiency, renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions.

In its recently-published report on the cost effectiveness of cohesion policy investments in energy efficiency, the European Court of Auditors points to a mismanagement of EU funding, blaming member states for a lack of adequate criteria when programming and monitoring energy efficiency projects. [...]

Energy Cities calls for the future ERDF regulation to support local authorities voluntarily committed
to the EU energy and climate objectives! This Cohesion Policy funding instrument should give
priority to cities having adopted a Sustainable Energy Action Plan under the Covenant of Mayors
initiative.

The Renovate Europe Day, held yesterday in Brussels, was the occasion to explore the local economic and social benefits of investing in the renovation of Europe’s building stock. It provided an excellent exchange opportunity for mayors, local elected representatives and private companies to seek synergies in this area, one of the major sectors in which local authorities have a key role to play.

Joint proposal supported by : AEBIOM, Cecodhas Housing Europe, CEWEP, COGEN Europe, EFIEES, EGEC, EHI, EHPA, Energy Cities, ESTIF and Euroheat & Power

At their next meeting on 28-29 June 2012, the Heads of States and Government will decide on measures to boost growth and jobs through an "EU growth agenda".
One specific measure that would bring significant long term benefits to the EU with immediate effect on economic growth and job creation is the deep or comprehensive energy efficiency refurbishment of the EU housing stock, starting with the poorest performing dwellings.

Through the Covenant of Mayors, local and regional governments have found a voice and a platform, to share ground-breaking practices and gain recognition for their pivotal role in the energy transition. With the political support of the Committee of the Regions, they intend to take the opportunity of the Rio+20 Conference to demonstrate, in the presence of international institutions and decision makers, their crucial contribution to the UN sustainable development objectives.

The latest Danish Presidency proposal on the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) would close only one third of the gap to Europe’s 20% energy saving target for 2020, according to the Coalition for Energy Savings. In fact, certain key provisions risk being even weaker than existing legislation which is due to be repealed by the new Directive.

In November 2011, the European Commission made a proposal for a €6.5bn Research and Innovation budget aimed at secure, clean and efficient energy. This budget is planned for the period 2014-2020 within the framework of the new Horizon 2020 programme to be co-ordinated by DG Research and Innovation. Will the budget embrace the activities backed by the Intelligent Energy Europe Programme (IEE)?

With more than 40% heating and cooling represents by far the largest share of final energy consumption in Europe. Although this sector is not only huge in size, but also as regards low and no-carbon solutions available already today, it is largely overlooked in all scenarios presented in the Energy Roadmap 2050.
As a consequence, the Roadmap fails to deliver a coherent and future-proofed vision. In addition to carbon-neutrality, future proofing implies affordability for all citizens and positive effects on local welfare including creation of employment.

Although the European Commission’s Communication on the Energy Roadmap 2050 is not revolutionary, the document reveals positive trends. The future European energy scheme puts energy efficiency and renewable energies at the forefront of action. And it gives reasons for hope that local resources and the need for energy decentralisation will be considered more strongly.

Covenant of Mayors signatories have engaged their city to achieve and go beyond the EU “3x20” objectives. They need the support of all citizens and local stakeholders to jointly reach these targets. With ENGAGE, citizens take action for Europe!

As European cities steadily increase their efforts in the fight against climate change, Covenant of Mayors Signatories urgently call on national leaders in Durban to show the same level of commitment and determination. This message, addressed to the delegates of the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, was unanimously adopted by some 400 mayors on 29 November 2011 in the hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels.

A one day seminar "Energy Roadmap 2050: Towards local and regional Energy Roadmaps" was organised in Brussels on 9th of November 2011 by the URBAN Intergroup of the European Parliament and Energy Cities.

On 6th October, the European Commission published its financial regulation proposals for the 2014-2020 period. This document is of prime importance as it defines what European funds should be used for and how they should be spent.

ENGAGE is a pan-European communication initiative that aims to involve citizens and stakeholders in building a sustainable energy future at the local level. Posters are the main communication channel used to raise awareness for the campaign and to locally share the Covenant of Mayors’ goals and the European Union “3x20” objectives.

On 29 June 2011, the European Commission published its proposal for the EU Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF) for the period 2014-2020. According to this document, the Commission abandons the only centrally-managed programme focused entirely and exclusively on the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy sources – the Intelligent Energy Europe programme (IEE) worth € 730 million for the period 2007-2013. This decision is not understandable and it is unacceptable for Energy Cities.

If the Directive recognises for the first time that energy solutions are to be found for each local territory, the chosen approach will only deliver expected results if there is really a clear room for a choice representing the best local solution. In addition, obligations can only deliver expected results
if adequate funding and financial instruments attached to it, which the Directive is currently forgetting
to address.

Being in the race to become the new champion in the French football ‘Ligue 1’ competition did not seem ambitious enough for the City of Lille, which recently engaged into another “battle” to win a prize in the energy saving field.
Just a few millimetres short of being finalist in the competition last year, Lille made an extra effort to ensure that this would be its year of glory. Lille received the First Prize from the hands of the President of the Jury Pekka Sauri, Vice-President of Energy Cities and Deputy Mayor of Helsinki.

With just days to the historic energy summit, six Brussels based associations representing energy efficiency have come together to focus attention on the heating sector and unite in their call for strong action on energy efficiency. Sharing the conviction that local energy concepts hold the key towards an accelerated transition to a sustainable energy future, the associations (Euroheat & Power, Cecodhas Housing Europe, CEWEP, COGEN Europe, EFIEES and Energy Cities) produced a joint statement entitled ‘Europe needs a strategy for Heat’. They believe that heating and cooling should be viewed as a market in their own right, as doing so provides important possibilities for energy integration and efficiency.

Your municipality is “display”ing an energy certificate in its buildings? And it has launched a much broader awareness-raising campaign on the energy performance? If so, Energy Cities’ Display® Campaign team awaits your application for the 2011 Award.

In its last Communication published on 26 January, the European Commission outlines the
role to be played by regional policy in the implementation of the « Europe 2020 » Strategy
[COM(2011) 17 final].
The document’s recommendations are largely in line with the proposals advocated by Energy
Cities

(Brussels, 26/11/2010) Energy Cities welcomes the European Commission’s initiative to highlight the relevance of the Covenant of Mayors in preparing Europe’s territorial and energy future in two strategic documents of paramount importance. For the first time, a strategic document on energy mentions the role of cities, whereas another document on cohesion makes low energy cities a priority. Energy Cities is pleased to see that both documents are new evidence of the political portent of the Covenant of Mayors, an initiative in which our Association is fully engaged.

An extension of the Covenant of Mayors to the Western Balkans was called for in a common declaration adopted during the meeting of the presidents and directors of the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South-East Europe (NALAS1) in Sofia on 15 June.

The city of Ivanic-Grad, Croatia, was awarded with the First Place. About this candidate, the Jury expressed “to be impressed by the total inclusion of this campaign - from public to private buildings involving media; users and the citizens of the area including children and politicians.

The city network Energy Cities –which has been playing an important role in this process - congratulates the Commissioner on this first step, a step that the 1,700 cities engaged in the Covenant of Mayors had been eagerly waiting for.

Cities engaged in the Covenant of Mayors are waiting for a strong signal from the European Commission and Member States!

After twenty years of existence, Energie-­Cités ­the European Association of local
authorities inventing their energy future­ has changed both its name and logo. The
name of the association is now Energy Cities, to underline the European dimension of
this association which has a membership of one thousand local authorities from thirty
countries.

The €5 billion European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP) adopted in spring 2009 excluded local authorities’ energy efficiency initiatives from support. Local authority networks –coordinated by Energy Cities- had proposed allocating 500 MEUR to cities engaged in the Covenant of Mayors to reinforce, inter alia, their financial and human capacities. Although favourably received by the Parliament, this proposal had been discarded by the Commission.
It appears that an amount of about 115 M€ will remain from the Economic European Recovery Plan (EERP), one year after its adoption. This is not a huge amount, but if it is well used, a leverage effect might occur.

Your municipality is “display”ing an energy certificate in its buildings? And, more than that, it has
launched a much broader awareness-raising campaign on the energy performance? If so, Energy Cities’ Display® Campaign team awaits your application to the 2010 TCA Awards. The deadline for
applications is 26th March 2010!