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International Conference and General Assembly
Transforming our municipalities ‒ From goals to action This year's International Climate Alliance Conference was held from 20 to 22 September in Essen, the European Green Capital 2017. The focus was on the transformation of cities and towns towards increased climate protection, adaptation to climate change and global justice. Other topics were local cooperation in regions as well as municipal demands in the international climate process. In addition, the General Assembly adopted two resolutions. Climate Star 2018 - Application period extended
For the eighth time, Climate Alliance is calling on all member cities, municipalities and districts as well as their municipal networks to submit their climate action efforts and projects for the 2018 Climate Star competition. Under the motto “Diversity in local climate action”, the 2018 edition of the Climate Star will make it clear that Europe can rely on strong local partners within the Climate Alliance in the field of climate action and climate justice. After a postponement of the awards ceremony, we are now pleased to announce that the closing date for submissions has been extended to 30 March 2018. The award ceremony will be held on invitation of the Federal State of Lower Austria on 18 October 2018 and will again take place at Schloss Grafenegg. Indigenous peoples: much to do, little to celebrate - An interview
On the occasion of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, Deutsche Welle spoke to Climate Alliance Executive Director Thomas Brose about how this year’s celebrations are being dampened by recent events in Brazil. According to Brose, “violent attacks against indigenous peoples by the government of current President Michel Temer, supported by large producers and their many representatives from the agricultural sector in Congress” are currently taking place. Financing Ambitious Local Climate Objectives (FALCO) - Project launch
Climate Alliance is continuing its work on the financing of local climate action via the FALCO project, a unique EU-funded initiative that will see the development and testing of a scalable pilot solution to the financing of local climate plans. Over 180 Flemish cities and towns will directly benefit from the project’s work. On 5 September 2017 the project was officially kicked off with a public event gathering some 100 municipal representatives, members of the Flemish government and companies throughout Flanders on the topic of financing energy savings. Climate Alliance President Tine Heyse, together with other speakers, shed light on the importance of energy savings projects and the current situation in Flanders as well as on the project’s main goals and next steps.
Promoting and financing energy efficiency in Ireland and the United Kingdom
28 September 2017 in Dublin, Ireland This event aims to engage policymakers and stakeholders in an informed discussion on ways to upscale energy efficiency investments. This includes sharing best practice on how to reach out to and engage SMEs in thinking about energy efficiency investments as well as the presentation of the opportunities for unlocking the potential for energy efficiency investments in Ireland and the UK. Speakers will focus on practical experience and the event will allow ample time for debate. How citizen cooperatives can finance SEAPs
16 October 2017 - Covenant of Mayors Webinar Are you a local authority looking for innovative ways to finance your energy and climate action plan? Are you struggling in finding your way amidst loans, market mechanisms and corporate banks? Do you want to learn more about how citizens can help you finance energy and climate projects? Then this webinar is for you! During the webinar the possible ways local authorities can collaborate with energy cooperatives will be presented. Learn via the example of Climate Alliance member and Covenant of Mayors signatory the City of Ghent how successful cooperation can be established. Geothermal in the Alpine Space –The GRETA mid-term conference
7 November 2017 in Salzburg, Austria Near surface geothermal energy presents a promising renewable energy source. Municipal representatives and renewable energy experts will gather to discuss its vast potential for use by cities and towns in the alpine region. Exchange on the possibilities and learn about best practice examples at the conference of the EU project GRETA. The power of innovative financing - Renovating buildings
4 - 5 December 2017 in Brussels Boosting investment for sustainable building renovation is vital for achieving a clean energy transition in Europe. This is particularly true for buildings, which are responsible for 40 percent of Europe’s primary energy consumption and 36 percent of its CO2 emissions. Unfortunately, it is difficult for municipalities to access financing to remedy the situation. To make it easier and to raise awareness of the barriers and opportunities in financing energy retrofits, Climate Alliance has joined forces with a number of other organisations via the CITYnvest project to develop a set of tools and policy recommendations.
Climate mitigation and adaptation in the Alps
There are now more than 100 local authorities that are bundling their activities in the areas of energy and climate change adaptation via the EU project PEACE_Alps. Implementation measures have thus far been very well received and their uptake will soon spread to neighbouring regions, eager to carry out the measures in their areas. Find out more in this dedicated newsletter. Reducing energy and water consumption in public buildings
Take part in a smart metering training session and get ideas about how to implement a sustainable energy policy in your municipality or region. The next training session, made possible via the EDI_Net project, will take place on 23 October 2017 in Barcelona. Requirements: Your local authority has an at least hourly automatic consumption data recording for energy and water data in public buildings. Sign up today!
Cologne agrees climate partnership with indigenous peoples in Peru
The Cologne City Council unanimously voted to establish a climate partnership with indigenous peoples in the Peruvian Amazon in anticipation of the UN Indigenous Peoples Day on 9 August 2017. In cooperation with the Climate Alliance city network, Cologne will thereby be supporting the Association of the Indigenous Communities of the Ucayali and its tributaries (FECONAU). Concretely, the partnership aims to support the Shipibo-Conibo community in its fight against the expansion of palm oil plantations in its territory. Despite legal recognition of Shipibo-Conibo land, the Peruvian State maintains the rights of use and continues to distribute licenses for the cultivation of highly destructive monocultures.
RenoWatt project wins Best European Energy Service Award
On 31 May, the Berlin Energy Agency and the European Commission honoured RenoWatt for its outstanding efforts and achievements in energy services with the “Best Energy Project 2017” award. RenoWatt was recognised as a model initiative providing a targeted response to climate change issues and to the specific needs of participating public entities. RenoWatt, a public building energy retrofitting project of the Liège province, is an initiative of Climate Alliance member GRE-Liège (Group for the Economic Redeployment of Liège). The initiative was launched in November 2014. With the support of the CITYnvest project the initiative is currently being scaled up and extended to local authorities in other Walloon provinces. This marks the first time a Belgian energy project has won a European Commission award. Province of Ferrara now joining new eeef Technical Assistance Facility
The Italian Climate Alliance member Province of Ferrara is the second public authority to participate in the new Technical Assistance Facility of the European Energy Efficiency Fund (eeef). Ferrara has joined forces with the development agency “SIPRO Agenzia Provinciale per lo Sviluppo”, to develop a 15 million Euros investment programme that addresses the implementation of energy efficiency measures in several municipalities. The investment programme includes deep energy retrofitting measures and the replacement of 27,000 public lighting points by LED technology.
2020 European Green Capital Award
Does your city have what it takes to be a European Green Capital Award winner? Find out and submit your application to become a European Green Capital! The Award has a two-stage evaluation process. First, an international independent Expert Panel assesses each city’s application, selecting a shortlist for the next stage of the competition. Applicants are assessed based on 12 environmental indicators. For the first time, in order to celebrate the 10th year of the competition, the Commission will award a financial incentive of 350,000 Euros to the winning city of the 2020 title. Closing date for your application is 18 October 2017. 2019 European Green Leaf
The European Green Leaf is the EU-wide competition for smaller cities and towns. Every year, the title recognisees the environmental management efforts of smaller cities and towns with populations of 20,000 to 100,000. Now in its 4th year, the European Commission has launched the competition to identify the winner(s) of the European Green Leaf 2019. For the first time, the winner of this title will be also receiving a financial incentive of 75,000 euros to kick-start their environmental programme for the year! The closing date for your application is 18 October 2017.
Exploration kit “1 sq m forest”
Discover the endemic forest and its beauty; learn about biodiversity and inspect even the smallest of its details. “1 sq m forest” is a set of educational materials that allow children to dive into the topic of forests in a unique way as they discover the variety of colours, shapes, patterns and functions forests have to offer. With close up filters for smartphones, investigative equipment and tools to process and display samples, children and young adults come into contact with nature’s mysteries. The English version offers a box with exploration materials and a download link for English language brochures (work booklet and booklet for teachers) and costs 40 euros. Send your order or any questions to Annika Sutter (a.sutter@climatealliance.org). 2017 Global Review of Sustainable Public Procurement
The 2017 Global Review of Sustainable Public Procurement examines the state of sustainable public procurement (SPP) policies and practices undertaken by national governments worldwide over the last five years. The report was published in the framework of the 10YFP Sustainable Public Procurement Programme, which committed to conducting a regular review of the state of SPP implementation as part of its work plan. Building on the findings of the first edition published in 2013 and on research conducted between 2015 and 2016 by 41 national governments and more than 200 SPP stakeholders, the report aims to track the global progress of SPP and to deepen the collective understanding of the current barriers, needs, opportunities and innovations in SPP. Platform with educational material
Encouraging critical thinking through awareness raising, political education and capacity building are essential drivers of socio-economic and ecological justice. In the framework of the project “The Future We Want – Local Authorities for Sustainable Development” Climate Alliance, together with its project partners, has developed a variety of educational materials. Videos, informational brochures and workshop concepts for various age groups and in several languages are available, free of charge.
Energy Info Days 2017
23 - 25 October 2017 in Brussels This year, new funding opportunities and innovative schemes offered by Horizon 2020’s Work Programme 2018-2020 will be presented. Applying for funding is a competitive process and only the best project proposals will be selected. The event will focus on European Energy Efficiency policy, the Energy priorities of the H2020 Energy 2018-2020 calls, and guidance on how to apply for funding. In addition, workshops for each funding area as well as a National Contact Point Brokerage event will be offered. Horizon 2020 Information Day
8 - 9 November 2017 in Brussels The Information Day and brokerage event targets potential applicants to the 2018-2020 calls for project proposals under the Horizon 2020 Challenge 5 “Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials”. International Passive House Days
10 - 12 November 2017 - worldwide Passive House buildings are not only energy efficient, they are also comfortable, healthy and cost-effective - and therefore a wise investment for municipalities. Municipalities who have public buildings which meet the Passive House Standard have the opportunity to open their doors for the open day visits and show citizens and other local authorities alike how Passive House buildings offer an affordable and sustainable alternative to help achieve ambitious climate protection targets. |
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Climate Alliance of European Cities with Indigenous Rainforest Peoples / Alianza del Clima e.V.