ConPlusUltra’s experts give training at CEESEU Bootcamp in Tartu
From March 8th to 10th, ConPlusUltra attended CEESEU’s second bootcamp in Tartu, Estonia. A total of 42 project partners and municipal representatives from Germany, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Hungary, Poland and Austria took part in the three-day training.
Since some municipalities struggle to prepare and implement Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP), this bootcamp concentrated on topics such as SECAP implementation in Central and Eastern Europe, data collection and technological solutions for SECAP implementation as well as SECAP financing in the region including proposal writing.
Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP)
ConPlusUltra’s energy team was invited to give several presentations related to SECAP implementation, monitoring and financing. In addition, it organised a group exercise on the different barriers faced in SECAP development and implementation across the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
The presentation by Andreas Karner on the first day of the bootcamp focused on the content of a SECAP, the elaboration process including stakeholder involvement and the subsequent implementation. He then went on to describe how to ensure a sustainable energy monitoring process including the setting of targets as well as best practice implementation principles. This was also an opportunity to present the Urban Adaptation Support Tool as well as the accompanying Excel template, which outlines all the steps needed to develop and implement an adaptation strategy.
At the end of the session, the participants were split into four groups and asked to answer one of the following two questions: What challenges have you faced in the development of SECAPs? What challenges do you think you will face in the implementation of SECAPs? The group exercise revealed that the countries in the region face numerous barriers related to both the development and implementation of SECAPs. These include a lack of data, difficulty understanding citizens’ needs and insufficient political commitment.
On the third day of the bootcamp, Cosmin Capra gave a presentation on a range of innovative financing options for SECAPs. These included traditional bank loans, alternative financing schemes such as Crowd Investing, Crowdfunding and Energy Performance Contracting. These instruments, while not widely used in Central and Eastern Europe can be employed to mobilise the necessary finance to implement municipal-level SECAP measures.
The majority of the presentations will be made available on the CEESEN website so please keep following the page if you are interested in the recordings of the bootcamp.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 696173