3. Good Practice Example: SEAP (Sustainable Energy Action Plan) (Budapest, Hungary)

Transcription

1 3. Good Practice Example: SEAP (Sustainable Energy Action Plan) (Budapest, Hungary) Keywords Budapest, sustainable energy, CO2 emission reduction, climate protection, action plan Name and location Budapest City Council The Budapest City Council was established in 1990 after the regime change. Its tasks and competences are regulated by law and includes for example: the determination of the city development and rehabilitation program of Budapest; the creation of the city planning regulatory of Budapest; contribution to the energy supply, public lighting of Budapest. The City Council consists of 33 deputies and the mayor. It wields almost the whole municipal power. It approves the annual budget of the municipality and regulates the city life from a wide range of aspects. Covenant of Mayors The Covenant of Mayors is a European cooperation movement involving local and regional authorities. It was suggested by Energy Cities and launched by the European Commission to endorse and support the efforts deployed by local authorities in the implementation of sustainable energy policies. Signatories of the Covenant of Mayors voluntarily commit to increase energy efficiency and use renewable energy sources on their territories. By their commitment, they support the European Union 20% CO2 reduction objective to be reached by European local authorities of all sizes - from small villages to capitals and major metropolitan areas - are eligible to sign up as Covenant of Mayors Signatories. In order to meet the CO2 reduction targets they set themselves, signatories commit to a series of steps and accept to report and be monitored on their actions. Within predefined time frames, they formally undertake to fulfil the following: Develop adequate administrative structures, including allocation of sufficient human resources, in order to undertake the necessary actions; Prepare a Baseline Emission Inventory; Submit a Sustainable Energy Action Plan within the year following the official adhesion to the Covenant of Mayors initiative, and including concrete measures leading to at least 20%

2 reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020; Submit an implementation report at least every second year after submission of their Sustainable Energy Action Plan for evaluation, monitoring and verification purposes To comply with the crucial necessity of mobilizing local stakeholders in the development of the Sustainable Energy Action Plans, signatories also undertake to: Share experience and know-how with other local authorities; Organise Local Energy Days to raise citizens awareness of sustainable development and energy efficiency; Attend or contribute to the Covenant of Mayors annual ceremony, thematic workshops and discussion group meetings; Spread the message of the Covenant in the appropriate fora and, in particular, encourage other mayors to join the Covenant. Energy Cities Energy Cities is the European Association of local authorities in energy transition. It was created in 1990 and now represents more than 1000 towns and cities in 30 countries. From 2013 to 2015, Energy Cities is under the Presidency of the City of Heidelberg (DE) with a Board of Directors of 11 European cities. Energy Cities was established as an association of European local authorities in 1990 to put all this into practice. The association premises are located in Brussels (BE) and Besançon(FR). A part of the team works in Budapest (HU), Offenburg (DE), Freiburg-im-Breisgau (DE) and Zürich (CH). The main objectives of the association are: To strengthen the role and skills of a city in the field of sustainable energy. To represent the interests of a city and influence the policies and proposals made by European Union institutions in the fields of energy, environmental protection and urban policy. To develop and promote the initiatives of a city through exchange of experiences, the transfer of know-how and the implementation of joint projects. Background, objectives, implementation measures and financing The political and professional governance of Budapest has considered the improvement of the environmental conditions, climate protection and energy savings a priority for a long time and plans to increase its relating activities in the future. Proving the above, the Mayor of Budapest signed the agreement of the Covenant of Mayors in 2009, among the first Mayors in Hungary. By joining the covenant, Budapest has undertaken to reduce its carbon dioxide emission by at least 20% by 2020 (the basis of the comparison is 2005). In order to reach this goal, a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (hereinafter referred to as SEAP) was to be prepared which includes the baseline data and the measures and action programs that are necessary to realise the target emission rates by SEAP contains measures concerning the energy use of the local government facilities; supplier (non-municipal) buildings and facilities; residential real estate, including private and

3 municipality-owned flats; public lighting; industry (excluding participants of the EU Emissions Trading System); municipal vehicles; public transportation; private and commercial travelling, transport. It should be noted that by the SEAP, municipalities not only aim to reduce the energy consumption of their directly owned organisations; they also plan to improve the energy consumption of the whole city. In order to guarantee continuity and success, SEAP is discussed with the civil society; locally affected people are highly involved in the planning and implementation processes. The members of the Covenant also agreed to continuously monitor the implementation of the adopted SEAP and report the results once in two years until 2020 to Energy Cities. Financing The main source for financing the Action Plan is the municipal budget. To support it, external resources are available, e.g. national, regional financing systems, energy supplier companies, public and private cooperations etc.) The European Union also provides several opportunities, e.g. URBACT program, Intelligent Energy Europe program (IEE), Smart Cities, European Energy Efficiency Fund (EEEF), Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) by EBRD etc. Cost benefit, effects and results achieved Before preparing the SEAP, actions have already been taken to improve the environmental circumstances in Budapest. The city has already put in place an environmental protection program, a climate program, an energy conception and an energy action plan. Therefore, the preparation of the SEAP could have been based on excellent foundation. By 2010, the following measures have taken place: lighting modernization in educational institutions institutional building and heating reconstruction corporate programs (e.g. modernization, sealant; to increase effectiveness) transport development (e.g. expansion of cycle paths, driving restrictions in the downtown area, public transport developments) etc. The SEAP provides a new, integrated approach which allows the different plans to work on a common ground. After the implementation and first evaluation in 2010, a change of government took place in Hungary which led to multiple changes. The city development plan of Budapest now aligns to the planning procedures of the European Union: the newly prepared plan now also implies a significant part of the SEAP. The planned interventions until 2020 are: measures under the Climate Program expected changes in the energy industry

4 modernisation of residential buildings local energy production expansion and modernisation of the heating supply system public lighting public transport, private and commercial transport expected changes of the modal split until 2020 Planning procedures, involvement of stakeholders and possible participation structures On 10 February 2009 during the Sustainable Energy Week, more than 350 European cities signed the articles of association of the Covenant of Mayors, solemnly undertaking to exceed one of the most important energy policy objectives of the EU: reducing the carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by Among others, the Mayor of Budapest also joined the Covenant and prepared the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) to define the necessary measures (actions, partnerships etc.) to reach the undertaken goal. By 2014, 5097 European cities joined the Covenant, with 22 Hungarian cities among them. The preparation of SEAP 1. Recording data baseline data from 2005 changes from 2005 until 2010 planned interventions and their effect on the CO2 emission until Preparing the text version of SEAP 3. Sending the SEAP documents to the metropolitan companies Integrating the proposals of relevant metropolitan organizations; taking short, medium and long term strategic plans into account. 4. Approval of the Budapest City Council 5. Civil discussion 6. Integrating possible changes in the material + Preparing and sending monitoring reports to Energy Cities once in two years. Innovation fostered - local / regional developments triggered Professional programs under preparation (e.g. Local Agenda 21, Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Concept etc.) consider the content of SEAP. Further opportunities yet unused:

5 Waste collection and waste management: introduction of door-to-door selective waste collection; expansion of environmental friendly technologies in the metropolitan waste management system Building energy and lighting modernization projects: building energy renovation of the City Hall; energy rationalisation in the field of public lighting, renewable energy utilisation Utilization of geothermal energy and waste heat energy Increase the awareness of the residential sector Alternatively fuelled vehicles, energy investments, increasing the proportion of alternative energies etc. Searching of other funding opportunities than the national operative program Lessons learnt practical recommendations The fact that some actions concerning energy consumption and CO2 emission fall within the cognizance of the district municipalities, will require further consideration. Some districts already prepare their own SEAP. Later on it can be recommended that each SEAP in accordance with the present Budapest SEAP is to be prepared according to the competence and interventions of the given municipality, in order to avoid any overlap. Each municipality should present the undertaken reduction in their own intervention areas. The City Council should take this aspect into consideration during the subsequent monitoring reports.