IP/09/1416
Brussels, 6 October 2009
The Covenant of Mayors develops a new interactive tool to help EU cities reducing CO2
In the occasion to the Open Days (5-8 October 2009) the European Commission will present within a thematic workshop a powerful online interactive instrument to help cities present their Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP) and to facilitate their evaluation. Mayors and local authorities participating at this workshop next Tuesday 6 th October will find out “How do cities prepare their SEAP and Inventory of Emissions” by learning how to use the new online template. The Covenant of Mayors is going from strength to strength with more than 700 signatories and the number of Supporting Structures reaching 33.
"With the SEAP template and guidelines, Covenant of Mayors enters a phase of technical maturity, enabling any city to turn commitment to action", said EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
Template for Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP)
The Covenant of Mayors is entering the phase of its technical readiness: Covenant signatories are preparing and will submit their own unique Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP), as they have committed by signing the Covenant.
The first and crucial support tool, an online template helping cities to structure and present their SEAPs and Baseline emission inventories, has been put online and is supported by helpful instructions. This tool is freely available since October, forming a basis for follow up on Covenant implementation. The key information from the SEAPs will then be made publicly available through the www.eumayors.eu website.
The Covenant signatories are asked to complete this online template by providing information regarding their Overall Strategy, the details of their Emission Inventory and the measures included in their Sustainable Energy Action Plans.
The Covenant help-desk is operated in joint co-operation between Covenant of Mayors Office and European's Commission's Joint Research Centre in Ispra.
Exceptional level of success
Since launching this ambitious European Commission initiative in 2006, the Covenant of Mayors enjoys an exceptional level of success. As of 1 October 2009, more than 700 mayors, representing over 110 million citizens, have signed the Covenant and in doing so, have committed to reduce their CO 2 emissions beyond the EU 20% by 2020 target.
The signatories are so far receiving assistance from over 33 Supporting Structures – networks of local and regional authorities and public administrations that provide strategic guidance, financial and technical support to municipalities willing to sign up to the Covenant of Mayors. The involvement of these actors is crucial for the success of the Covenant of Mayors.
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