Covenant of Mayors Ceremony: Bottom-up approach to meet EU ambitions and fight economic crisis
The Covenant of Mayors is a European movement which involves local and regional authorities who have voluntarily committed to increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources across Europe. Currently 3,150 mayors are signatories of the Covenant of Mayors, this accounts for over 146,000,000 inhabitants. By their commitment, Covenant signatories aim to meet and exceed the European Union 20% CO2 reduction objective by 2020. Dublin City Council, supported by Codema was one of the earliest Local Authorities involved when Eibhlin Byrne (then Lord Mayor) signed it in March 2009.
The recently held annual Covenant of Mayors Ceremony saw the attendance of some 400 mayors and over 1,100 participants. The event took place in the Hemicycle of the European Parliament on 29th November 2011. Dublin City was represented by Lord Mayor of Dublin Andrew Montague (pictured) and Gerry Wardell, Director of Codema.
Through the Covenant of Mayors, local and regional authorities have shown they are the most relevant actors to reconcile EU energy and climate ambitions with the day-to-day concerns of citizens, and help Europe find its way out of the crisis. This is the main conclusion to be drawn from key message
s delivered at the occasion of the Covenant of Mayors Annual Ceremony.
“European policies become real for citizens when they involve the local and regional level”, said European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek in his opening remarks, adding that “when budgetary austerity is a dominant priority, we have to show at European level, that more Europe will actually make the difference to solve many problems which cannot be solved by one country alone.” “We are at the dawn of a green revolution. And in this revolution, you, the Mayors of our cities, are the front line,” he told participants.
The emphasis of this year’s ceremony was however more on action and results than political commitment, and the impact of Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) was raised several times during the ceremony. "Your action plans support regional policy objectives", said Hahn while Buzek stated they were “becoming the blueprints for Europe energy policy”. The Dublin City Sustainable Energy Action Plan 2010-2020, which was created by Codema for Dublin City Council is acknowledged by the Covenant of Mayors in their "From Commitment to Action" document where it is presented an inspirational example for other regions.
MEP Jan Olbrycht also added that the allocation of ERDF funds towards energy efficiency measures should be subject to commitment to the Covenant of Mayors or development of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan. A copy of the Dublin City SEAP 2010-2020 can be downloaded from the reports and documents section of our website.
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