Sustainable Energy Action Plans Research Articles

Investigation of greenhouse emission inventory from transport system functioning in large and medium cities

The object of the research of the article is transport system of a city. The paper reviews the necessity to assess the greenhouse emissions in the city and proposes the methods for greenhouse emissions inventory of the urban transport system. The proposed approach is aligned with guidelines for the development of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) of Mayor Covenants of European Union (EU). The methodologies outlined in the paper allow to estimate annual greenhouse emissions from transport sector. The SECAP defines transport sectors based on ownership and functioning as following: municipal transport fleet, public transport, and private and commercial transport. The paper proposes the methodology to estimate direct and indirect emissions in each of the described sector based on the information that is typicaly available to municipalities in Ukraine. The assessment is conducted on disaggregated level for different fuel types (diesel, petroleum, natural gas, biofuel, electricity, etc.) and separately for each fleet type (buses, trucks, passenger vehicles, specialized machinery). Total CO2 emissions are then estimated by multiplying the amount of fuel consumed by the emission factor for each fuel type and vehicle type. Information of fuel consumption is estimated based on annual milage and estimated based on available data and number of assumptions proposed in the paper. The proposed methodology for greenhouse emissions inventory for the transport sector allows to analyze available data, recommendations for data collection and a methodology for determining CO2 emissions from the operation of the transport system with sufficient accuracy of calculations. Based on these results, it is possible to forecast changes in energy consumption and emissions in the transport sector as a result of various interventions. For example, in Zhytomyr city the results of inventory were used to develop a set of measures, which include updating the rolling stock of electric transport; increasing the energy efficiency of the power grids of the transport system, developing cycling infrastructure.

The potential of energy planning at Municipality scale: Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP) and local Energy Communities to meet the energy demand variability

Energy planning tools play a key role in achieving sustainable development goals and in the energy transition toward a zero-carbon future. Energy security and decentralization are, as well, additional benefits from a rational energy planning applied to a territory. In particular, the relevance of territorial energy planning grows at the local scale, the peculiarities of a territory being a key point. This is especially true for Municipalities, which represent the smallest units with political responsibility. Cities are often the most unsustainable environments, being responsible for 75% of global energy use, 70% of global CO2 emissions, and considering that the percentage of the global population living in cities is expanding from 50% in 2022 to 70% in 2050. In this regard, the European Community has already designed a specific energy planning tool, called SECAPs (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans), an evolution of SEAPs (Sustainable Environmental Action Plans) that allows the quantification of energy flowing throughout the territory to support the local economy. The greenhouse gases emission commitments are, as well, considered and could be fulfilled being the cornerstone of the European deal on climate change. Waiting for a zero Carbon economy, the intention of the cited plans is to propose mitigation and adaptation actions to delay or to react to climate change manifestations. A formidable new planning tool is certainly “Energy Communities”, where cities, public and private companies, citizens, energy producers and consumers (so called prosumers) can share renewable energy in whatever form is locally available, improving energy security and partial independence from the grid. The paper presents, for a small/medium size Italian city located in the Apennine Mountain hinterland some criteria to design energy communities demonstrating how the potential energy generation based on renewable sources can fulfil energy demand when an Energy Community is organized. The starting point is the knowledge of thermal and electricity consumptions available from SEAPs. Hourly load profiles for them were reconstructed and coupled to renewable energy production availability which is a peculiarity of a territory. Thanks to a suitable diversification of energy production, the fulfilment of the energy needs can be achieved with only a residual grid assistance. Consistency is given to the concept of energy resilience.

Analysis of the Final Energy Use by Sectors in City of Vidin

According to the initiative "The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (CoM)" and within the framework of the EU-funded "Positive Energy Areas Project", the Municipality of Vidin should establish a "Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan". The city's sustainable energy development plans aim to reduce CO2 emissions by 40% up to 2030 and develop a comprehensive climate change adaptation strategy at the local level or integrate it into existing plans. The initiative envisages actions both for mitigating climate change and also for climate adaptation at the local level.  This paper presents the results of the first part of the process for establishing the "Sustainable Energy and Action Plan of the Municipality of Vidin", including the assessment and calculation of the final energy use in the city by the different sectors. The research aims to present the main data sources necessary for СО2 emissions inventory at the city level and to process, validate, and analyze used statistical data for defining the final energy use by different sectors in one Bulgarian municipality. The purpose of this assessment is to determine final energy use by different sectors and by types of energy sources. The results from the analysis and evaluation of the final energy use in the sectors "Residential buildings", "Municipal buildings", "Industry", "Tertiary buildings", "Public lighting" and "Transport" will serve to conduct a baseline of CO2 emissions inventory, which is a part of the “Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan”. These results also could help the local authorities and key energy players to identify and implement the most suitable measures and actions for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

ENEA PAES: A Web Platform for Supporting Italian Municipalities in Sustainable Energy Action Plan

ENEA PAES: A Web Platform for Supporting Italian Municipalities in Sustainable Energy Action Plan

The role of sustainable energy and climate action plans: Synergies with regional sustainable development strategies for a local 2030 agenda

The current environmental and socio-economic crises call for urgent actions, the efficacy of which depend on the coordination among different levels of governance. Response strategies must be devised at different scales, ranging from the international to the local level. This paper explores local “Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans” as enacting tools of “Regional Strategies for Sustainable Development.” Starting from the assessment of the general situation in Italy, the study then focuses at the local level with the Municipality of Montemarciano in the Marche region (central Italy), selected because partner of the EU Interreg project “RESPONSe.” Findings highlight that sustainability and climate issues are not homogeneously acknowledged throughout the Italian regions. There seems to be a significant north-south divide in the adoption of Regional Strategies, while Action Plans appear more scattered. Regional and municipal efforts are not fully aligned, given the lack of a clear relation between actions and policies. In contrast, the potential benefits of an effective coordination emerge within the specific case study of Montemarciano: not only the Action Plan seems able to support the achievement of energy and climate objectives, but it might also contribute to other areas, such as health, water and biodiversity. Given the similar structure, timing and background, the examined local Action Plan appears to support the Regional Strategy pushing forwards the overall sustainable development of the area. Such synergy would also foster the partnership among stakeholders strongly advocated at the international level.

And climate change

The contribution presents the results of a research project carried out within the main framework of the “Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan” for the Ravenna Municipality, one of the signatories of the “Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy”. The project goal is to provide decision makers and city planners with landscape-oriented strategies capable of improving the territorial resilience vis-a-vis climate change impacts in the next decades. The research focuses on the construction of future alternative scenarios on a 2100 horizon. From their comparison, a short-term vision (2050) open to alternative developments has been designed. The study provides an overall view, on a municipal scale, of the main adaptation actions that can be implemented; then, it tests their potential effectiveness on smaller case-studies illustrating some recurring landscape units of the territory.

A Hybrid AHP Approach and GIS-Based Methods as Fundamental Tools in the SECAP’s Decision-Making Process

Adapting to climate change and mitigating its impacts are the main challenges for cities today. One objective that the European Commission has set in recent decades is reducing climate change inaction, and several political actions have been implemented. Among these actions, the Covenant of Mayors led to the development and adoption of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) by many cities worldwide. A challenge that local authorities must face during the development of a SECAP is the identification of the policies to be included in the plan. This paper presents a case study to show the validity of using a hybrid analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach and various geographic information system (GIS)-based methods to support local authorities in the decision-making process during the development of SECAPs. These methods can improve participation among the community and stakeholders, at the same time making it possible to choose the best actions to reduce emissions and energy consumption and optimally allocate financial resources.

The Climate Transition Strategy of the city of Brescia (Italy)

<abstract> <p>To build climate-neutral, and at the same time sustainable and highly resilient cities, it is necessary to act on their infrastructures and activities that take place in them, which constitutes an operation that requires activating a long and pervasive planning process based on a highly integrated use of the intervention tools available to a municipality. Furthermore, it is necessary to have a specific tool which, in addition to structuring actions to counteract climate change, stimulates and coordinates this integration. A voluntary tool that has established itself in European cities committed to combating climate change is the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP), which, subsequently and as a complement to the Sustainable Energy Action Plan, was promoted by the European Union to contribute from below to policies to counter climate change. Currently, one or both instruments have been adopted by around 8,000 municipalities or groups of municipalities. Furthermore, in recent years another tool has been emerging, which is often developed to replace or complement the SECAP to increase the effectiveness of the Municipalities' actions to combat climate change. This new tool, which has taken on different names, is referred to here as Climate Transition Strategy. The experience of the elaboration and the initial implementation of the Climate Transition Strategy of Brescia (Italian municipality of 200,000 inhabitants) is critically described, which was activated together with SECAP to achieve higher levels of mitigation and adaptation to climate change. In particular, the theoretical-methodological characteristics and the initial implementation of this strategy are described, comparing them with the performances required for the adoption of the SECAP and with the experiences that have been had with the latter tools. In this way, the performance of this new tool was compared with that of a consolidated and constantly evolving tool.</p> </abstract>

The role of the municipalities in achieving the EU’s sustainable energy transition

Greenhouse gas emissions are clearly responsible for the intensification of climate change, the largest share of which can be attributed to energy production and use. The European Union aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. This energy transition by 2050 is called the energy transition. One of the European Union's best-known energy and climate organisations is the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (CoM). This publication evaluates the role of municipalities in the energy transition with the help of the analysis of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP) document prepared by the Hungarian municipalities joining the alliance, especially from 16 submitted cities point of view. When planning the area-by-area reductions formulated in their mitigation action plans, they realistically perceive the extent of their direct intervention opportunities, they expect a greater proportion of the planned measures from local actors, so they can help achieve the goals by their exemplary operation, organizing awareness-raising events and finding sources of funding. Through their indirect role in local energy management, municipalities are important actors in achieving the EU's energy transition.

GHG action zone identification at the local level: Emissions inventory and spatial distribution as methodologies for policies and plans

Climate change mitigation and adaptation policies play a role in the political agendas of local authorities. The number of monitoring tools and experiences is progressively increasing also due to improvement in standardization of methods and proliferation of research and accounting experiments, which bring about increase in awareness of political subjects and the general public. Coherently with its Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP), in 2018 the Municipality of Grosseto (central Italy) decided to build a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory integrated with Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based maps, to visualize the spatial distribution of the GHG balance results.A bottom-up GHG emissions inventory at the sub-national level has been elaborated, following the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines, with the aim of creating site-specific knowledge and supporting policies. GHG gross emissions corresponded to 395,558.59 t carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq), i.e. five time higher than CO2 absorption, determining an abatement percentage of 17.09%. The emissions came mainly from road transport (47.57%), heating (15.01%), and consumption of imported electricity (14.57%). The GHG emissions balance results have been translated into five geo-referenced GIS-based maps, which help localize the areas under stress and categorize the territory into GHG action zones, able to stimulate environmental policies and monitor their efficacy. Beside policies inspired by the key categories of the GHG emissions inventory (e.g., mobility, import of electricity, heating), the spatial visualization of results stimulates considerations and measures regarding the localization of activities and infrastructures, urban and environmental planning, and land use change, which are not always supported by adequate information in the case of sub-national administrative systems. Moreover, by virtue of reliability and replicability, the obtained results (i.e., climate-altering emission maps and GHG action zones identification) should be incorporated into the so-called Baseline and Monitoring Emission Inventories, required in the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) of the municipalities that join the Covenant of Mayors.

Sub-National Scale Initiatives for Climate Change Mitigation: Refining the Approach to Increase the Effectiveness of the Covenant of Mayors

Climate change mitigation strategies include sub-national initiatives proposed and operated by municipalities. An example of such initiatives is the Covenant of Mayors, the signatories of which are requested to compile territorial greenhouse gas emission inventories to identify entry points for mitigating policies and to be able to monitor their effectiveness over time. However, the current accounting approach presents some limitations, providing an incomplete picture of the territorial emissive status, thus hampering the mitigation potential of the set of measures. The present study shows that the current approach required by the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) guidelines for compiling the Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) can be complemented with the accounting guidelines proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in order to fill existing gaps and provide a comprehensive picture from a different point of view. The proposed refinement demonstrates that local administrative bodies can count on a tool able to provide detailed and accurate information, stimulate knowledge and awareness, and optimize local mitigation efforts sometimes limited by the application of large scale (national) top-down initiatives.

Evaluation of sustainable energy action plan strategies with a SWOT/TWOS-based AHP/ANP approach: a case study

Evaluation of sustainable energy action plan strategies with a SWOT/TWOS-based AHP/ANP approach: a case study

Synergy between Cities and surrounding territory to achieve the international agreements on energy and CO2 reduction. The Municipality of Avezzano in the Abruzzo Region (Italy) case.

Cities have a fundamental role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The European Community has already addressed a specific planning under the actions referred as SEAPs (Sustainable Environmental Action Plans) and SECAPs (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans). In fact, Municipalities are the smallest entities with a political responsibility in terms of Energy and Environmental Planning, and they must participate, as commitment, to the European Directives on Energy and fight to Climate change. They, finally, are often the most unsustainable environments due to the aggregation of many activities, energy and CO2 related.In this paper, for a typical small/medium-size Italian city (Avezzano), an evolution of the SEAP and the SECAP has been supposed and elaborated within the Covenant of Mayors. The synergy between the energy consumption of a city and the capability of a territory to mitigate CO2 and to finalize renewable energy to electricity production appears to be the right answer to the even more stringent commitments imposed by the gas crisis at worldwide level which is pushing to a new switch-on of coal fired power plants.Starting from the data and the list of actions elaborated to fulfil the SECAP, two scenarios have been evaluated to create a zero CO2 emission city. A model with multiple inputs has been elaborated with the main aim of reducing GHG emissions or compensating them, trying to sustain the effort to keep limited to 1,5 °C the maximum Planet’s temperature increase. Increasing the renewable energy production for all the energy final needs, exploitation of unused area finalized to carbon sequestration, energy efficiency and specific actions on the transportation sectors give all together a formidable contribution to reach this goal and to give to energy and environmental planning the right role it deserves.

Big Data Analysis for Optimising the Decision-Making Process in Sustainable Energy Action Plans: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied to Sicilian Regional Recovery and Resilience Plans

Keeping the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius, as foreseen by the Paris Agreement, requires a new global roadmap for the energy transition. For this reason, the European Commission decided to directly involve local municipalities in reaching these objectives through multilevel, bottom-up actions for sustainable energy. The Covenant of Mayors is a very concrete demonstration of this trend of development and adoption of sustainable energy action plans (SEAP), rethinking the way cities operate and bringing them closer to energy self-sufficiency, with measures favouring local economic development and improving citizens’ quality of life. The numerous RES/RUE actions included in SEAPs at the regional level have led both to the request for huge funding and to increased complexity for regional managers to identify the best projects to be financed. To manage the multitude of data (emissions, energy consumption, cost, etc.) present in the SEAPs at a regional level, a web-based platform called Lex-energetica was developed. In this context, this paper aims to present a participatory supportive framework for the decision-making process involved in financing the SEAPs’ actions, considering the selection of sustainable Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Rational Use of Energy (RUE) technologies. This study proposes a methodology based on two macro-phases: the first phase consists of a ranking evaluation of categories of areas of intervention based on the analytic hierarchy process, while the second identifies nine criteria, according to the domains corresponding to the three pillars of sustainability, to compare the most appropriate RES/RUE actions.

Ecological transition in a World Heritage City: The case of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (Canary Islands)

AbstractThe city of La Laguna is one of the largest urban areas of the Canary Islands archipelago, located on the volcanic island of Tenerife (Spain), whose energy demand results in a large carbon footprint due to the typical fossil fuel dependency of oceanic islands. In 2019, La Laguna joined the initiative under the new Climate and Energy Pact and has been working ever since to achieve the EU target of reducing by 55% greenhouse gases emissions by 2030. In this work, we present the results obtained from the study conducted of emissions of the city, focused on buildings, equipment and facilities (1), public lighting (2), transportation (3) and agriculture, forestry and fishing (4) sectors. To this end, emissions in 2009 were studied and compared with those in 2019, resulting in a 4% to 48% carbon dioxide emissions reduction in the last decade. To achieve the goal of reductions of more than 55% by 2030, the city council prepared a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP), in which they propose that successfully implemented measures would achieve a 64% reduction in emissions in the municipality.

Participatory Process Protocol to Reinforce Energy Planning on Islands: A Knowledge Transfer in Spain

European Union (EU) islands face vast challenges to cope with climate targets while handling complex stakeholders’ networks. This study aims to propose a Participatory Process Protocol to enhance the output of energy plans and projects through the effective engagement of local stakeholders. A knowledge transfer methodology is set to build on a successful experience of the Mediterranean port-cities of Málaga, Cádiz and Sète, now adapted into the case of European Union’s islands advancing with energy developments. First, a clustering analysis is carried out for inhabited islands, resulting in 4 clusters that serve as the classification for the calculation of energy transition Key Performance Indicators according to information received from 70 islands. Based on this, the original Protocol is restructured as a complement for the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan methodology, the one most adopted by European islands. Finally, how the Protocol might be implemented depending on the particularities of each cluster is discussed, as well as for the case of Spanish islands (Gran Canaria, Tenerife, and La Palma). Specific suggestions and key recommendations for the implementation of the Participatory Process Protocol are mentioned, as an instrument that could raise strategic suggestions from stakeholders to enhance the results of decision-making processes.

The Landfilling of Municipal Solid Waste and the Sustainability of the Related Transportation Activities

The management of municipal solid waste is a crucial issue to address as we move toward the decarbonization of urban contexts. Not by chance, this sector plays a relevant role in the Covenant of Mayors program, whereby municipalities are called to design their own Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SECAPs). However, despite new regulations strongly pushing the recycling and reuse of materials contained in municipal waste, many cities still use large landfills. As part of the overall environmental pressure exerted by these urban systems, the transport of waste from collection points to landfills or treatment facilities must be considered in order to correctly assess the full environmental burden of waste management. To this aim, in this paper, the Ecological Footprint method is applied to the municipal solid waste management system of the city of Palermo (Sicily). The results show that the impacts produced by the means of transport used, both in the status quo and in the assumed enhanced scenario (with less municipal waste disposed to landfills in favor of recycling), are significant compared to those caused by the other segments of the waste management system. The concept of a “saved footprint” is also introduced here, in order to properly compare the two scenarios.

Optimising the Cost of Reducing the CO2 Emissions in Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans

Tackling climate change can be achieved through local and regional initiatives, such as the Covenant of Mayors, which create energy and climate plans with mitigation measures. Upon the development of energy plans, the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) can be achieved through an individual or joint approach. The research aims to upgrade methods for local and regional energy planning through the choice of mitigation actions and alternative scenarios for the reduction of GHG emissions. This is achieved through optimisation of the selection of mitigation measures in the case of the wider Dubrovnik area in Croatia by choosing the most suitable option for implementation when comparing individual and joint approaches for the planning of the measures. Moreover, the implementation of single and sets of mitigation measures is compared through the total cost abatement curve. The modelled problem represents a non-linear problem as exponential functions and multiplication of variables occurs in the modelled equations. Visualisation of the results is achieved via the total cost abatement curve which ranks measures from the most cost-effective to the least cost-effective. It is shown that with the use of optimisation models, it is possible to find such sets of measures and alternative scenarios, which will, with less financial means, reach a minimal reduction of CO2 emissions by 40% in local and regional energy systems and result in financial savings of three times in the analysed case. In this way, it could be possible to increase the overall implementation of SECAP measures and mitigate the problem of the lack of appropriate financial planning.

Sustainable Energy Development and Climate Change Mitigation at the Local Level through the Lens of Renewable Energy: Evidence from Lithuanian Case Study

The penetration of renewable energy is one of the main challenges for sustainable energy development. Local governments across the European Union commit to development and implementation of the Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plan. This paper focuses on the case of Lithuania—a Central and Eastern European country. Almost one-third of Lithuanian municipalities have joined the Covenant of Mayors and prepared the plans that include SWOT analysis. However, there is a lack of information on how those plans contribute to climate change mitigation and sustainable energy development. This study identifies the links between key policy financial instruments, increasing energy efficiency. The Strategic Action Plans aimed at reducing GHG emissions and energy consumption in Lithuanian municipalities are analyzed. The challenges in promoting the renewable energy generation in Lithuanian rural regions are discussed. Moreover, the importance of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats identified is elicited at the local level. The study uses a combination of methods, such as expert surveys and SWOT analysis, that complements the tools used for regional energy climate planning and allows for overarching analysis. The expert survey shows that priority is given for renovation of buildings and modernization of energy infrastructure, making them more sustainable and more energy efficient. The results also show that, in the case of Lithuania (and possibly elsewhere in the post-Soviet countries), conditions and opportunities should be created beforehand to increase energy efficiency. Once this is achieved, the policies should focus on energy transition by switching to sustainable energy resources.

Investigation of conceptual networks related to climate change among inhabitants: A case study in Eastern Hungarian settlements with word association method

Abstract In this study, the word association method was applied in relation to municipalities in Eastern Hungary (Hajdú-Bihar county), where the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) already exists, and where the SECAP has not yet been introduced. In addition to the six municipalities examined, Debrecen, a county seat with the SECAP, was also included in the survey. The aim was to explore the conceptual networks related to climate change and the strength of the relationship between the stimulus word and the associated concepts. The associations representing a common meaning were categorised. The results show that the distribution of conceptual networks and that of categories related to climate change exhibit a similar picture in the group of municipalities with (3 villages) and without the SECAP (3 villages), although significant differences were found when the settlements were examined separately (7 municipalities). Studying the distribution of categories by demographic groups, it was found that educational attainment determines, to the greatest extent, the answers.