"Cities are becoming the places to deliver new ideas and innovative projects against global warming. Cities are also the public spaces where it is possible to find multicultural, cross-sectorial solutions, where the necessary conciliation between private and public interests may be found. The approach to tackle the climate crisis challenge can only be holistic, integrated, long-term and, most of all, based on citizen participation. This complex picture is best managed at local level. Therefore, cities must become leading actors for implementing sustainable energy policies, and must be supported in their effort ", said European Commissioner for Energy Andris Piebalgs.

The Covenant of Mayors will be a result-oriented initiative, focusing on concrete projects and measurable results. The adhering cities and regions will formally commit to reduce their CO2 emission more than 20% by 2020. In order to do that, they will develop Sustainable Energy Action Plans. Citizens will be informed on the achievements of their respective cities through periodic reports, which can be monitored by a third party.

The Commission will support the contribution of the best sustainable energy practices in the world to the Covenant cities and regions through a 'benchmarks for excellence' mechanism. The Commission intends also to negotiate the terms of the involvement of other major stakeholders in the Covenant. A Covenant secretariat, funded through the Intelligent Energy Europe programme, will facilitate monitoring, networking and promotion tasks of this new challenge.

A public information procedure has now started to produce a final version of the Covenant. Representatives of local and regional authorities are invited to send their contributions and comments to the following email address: TREN-COVENANT@ec.europa.eu The public information process is open until 30th April 2008.

Source: European Commission

29/01/2008

case

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Environmental sustainability