2. Mayors have the power to act!
Why the Covenant of Mayors?
75% of European population live in urban areas
80% of energy consumed and CO2 emitted come from cities
1.9% is the growth rate of energy use in cities (vs 1.6% globally)
Mayors have the power to act!
-Most of the EU citizens live in cities
-Most of the energy produced in Europe is consumed in urban areas.
-More than half our greenhouse emissions are created in and by cities.
- 80% of CO2 emissions come from urban areas
The battle against climate change will have to be fought and won in cities.

3. Mayors act voluntarily and take the lead !
Covenant Signatories commit to
Go beyond EU energy and climate objectives: % CO2 reduction by 2020
Prepare a Sustainable Energy Action Plan [SEAP]
Implement their Action Plan and report periodically on progress
Involve citizens and other stakeholders
Encourage other cities to join
Mayors act voluntarily and take the lead !
20% reduction of your CO2 emissions on your territory
Not only on municipal buildings and vehicles
Private housing, tertiary sector and transport (but not the industrial sector)
Covenant Cities are committed to:
-Prepare a baseline emissions inventory,
-Submit a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) approved by the municipal council within 1 year following the official adhesion to the Covenant of Mayors initiative,
-Submit an implementation report approved by the municipal council two year after submission of the SEAP for evaluation, monitoring and verification purposes.
Covenant cities also commit to:
-Adapt the city structures, including allocation of sufficient human resources, in order to undertake the necessary actions,
-Mobilise the civil society in its geographical area to take part in developing the SEAP,
-Share experience and know-how with other territorial units,
-Organise Energy Days or City Covenant Days,
-Attend and contribute to the annual EU Conference of Mayors,
-Spread the message of the Covenant in the appropriate fora and, in particular, encourage other Mayors to join the Covenant,
Finally, because the success and the recognition of the whole initiative rely on the real involvement of Covenant Cities, Signatories accept termination of the membership in the Covenant, subject to prior notice in writing by the Secretariat:
Covenant cities are encouraged to:
-appoint a person/department within municipal administration, responsible for a practical implementation of the Covenant –City Covenant Coordinator
-Promotion and communication of Covenant at local level as an important element of success for your Covenant actions is their extensive promotion and communication at all levels in order to involved all stakeholders in the process.
Therefore, we strongly recommend your city to:
 -Appoint a person in your administration responsible for media work concerning the Covenant -a “Covenant Media Officer” - who will be a media contact point for the Covenant of Mayors Office Media Desk,
-Communicate about your city’s engagement in the Covenant to the civil society and local media through, for example:
-Placing the Covenant logo on your city’s website (with direct link to the European Covenant website or to a special Covenant web page on your city’s website), or/and
-Creating a special Covenant web page on your city website informing about the latest developments of the initiative at local level,
-Translating the Covenant Newsletter to your native language and publishing it on your city website/disseminating it actively through your
contact databases
-Provide media with publication materials on latest developments of your Covenant activities
-Disseminate the Covenant promotion material freely downloadable from the Covenant website (Covenant text, brochures, postcards etc.)
and produce your own promotion material
-Organising information sessions or local forums for citizens, local stakeholders and local media
-Spread the message of the Covenant and, in particular, encourage other Mayors to join the Covenant and share experience and know-how with other territorial units,
-Organize Energy Days or City Covenant Days and local press conferences on the Covenant
Attend and contribute to the annual EU Covenant of Mayors ceremony,
-Co-operate actively with the Covenant of Mayors Media Desk through, for example:
-Informing the Media Desk about your local action (e.g. work progress on your Sustainable Energy Action Plan, organization of City Covenant
Days, organization of press conference etc.) – through sending by a description and photos of your actions/achievements,
-Sending to the Media Desk local Covenant audiovisual and printed publications produced by local/regional TV, radio, press (e.g. filmed
interviews with a mayor, local energy days etc.)
-Additional promotional activities as considered suitable

4. 480 cities signed up!!!
Change a number of cities that signed up each time the Covenant is presented!
Source: Covenant website :
Success of the operation launched ????? Ago
Number of countries
+ diversity of cities (big, small, pioneering, beginners)
+ exotic countries (New Zealand, Ukraine, etc…)

5. Among the Covenant Signatories are...
Paris (FR)
Riga (LV)
Photos can be changed according to the city/region/country in which the presentation is given.
Växjö (SE)
Budapest(HU)

6. Who supports the Covenant cities?
European
Institutions
Covenant Of
Mayors Office
Supporting
Structures
European Cities
Benchmarks of
Excellence
Financial Facility

7. The European Commission
Ensures political recognition and visibility of cities
Negotiates third parties’ contribution
Negotiates support for smaller cities
Mobilises finance
IEE II: € 15 million to promote sustainable energy investments in cities
Co-operation with EIB
Commission earmarks 15 million euro to promote sustainable energy investments in cities
The European Commission has adopted in April 2009 Work Programme of the Intelligent Energy-Europe (IEE) Programme aiming at co-financing non-technology projects to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean transport. For the first time financial support will be provided for technical assistance helping cities to develop bankable projects or investment programmes in the field of urban sustainable energy. The IEE 2009 budget is more than 96 million euro of which 15 million is foreseen for developing the potential of municipalities and regions to accelerate local investments, notably in buildings and urban transport.
Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs welcomed the initiative and said: "It is a real breakthrough that will help cities to contribute to the Community objectives of mitigating climate change while allowing for investments that will generate local jobs.”
The financial facility should be operational by the end of 2009 and it will be jointly operated by the European Investment Bank and the Commission. 15 million euro which are earmarked for local or regional authorities include those adhering to the Covenant of Mayors Initiative with the commitment to contribute to the objective of the EU sustainable energy policy, i.e. to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20% by It will help those local authorities to obtain large scale loans from development banks such as the European Investment Bank.
Projects eligible under the facility include renovation of public and private buildings, street lighting, integration of renewable energy sources into the built environment, district heating/cooling networks based on combined heat and power (CHP) and decentralised CHP systems. Another important area supported under the facility is urban transport to support increased energy efficiency and integration of renewable energy sources and to facilitate the introduction of electric cars.
Having in mind the potential of current 476 Covenant of Mayors' signatory cities, the Facility aims to provide tangible support for implementation of their Sustainable energy action plans and thus mobilize the local sustainable development, creation of new jobs and climate change mitigation.
Information extracts related to the Covenant of Mayors can be found at Covenant website.
Full text:

8. The Covenant of Mayors Office
Encourages local authorities to join the Covenant
Provides technical guidance and support to signatories
Monitors the implementation of their Action Plans in co-operation with the Joint Research Centre
Facilitates liaison among Covenant cities
Promotes Covenant cities at European level
Supports signatories in organising local energy days
SERVICES OFFERED BY THE COVENANT OF MAYORS OFFICE
In order to help you achieve your objectives, the European Commission set up the Covenant of Mayors Office which is ready to provide you with following services:
- Technical Guidelines on the preparation of baseline emissions inventory and SEAP. They are currently being developed by the European Commission Joint Research Center,
-Covenant Helpdesk that will support you through regular up-date of on-line Frequented Asked Questions (FAQs) at the Covenant website ( and allocation of a personalized contact to your city responding all general or technical questions,
-access to a restricted area of the Covenant of Mayors website allowing you to view the latest developments in all Covenant cities, to compare main actions included in their SEAPs, share experience and consult on-line experts in the field of energy and climate,
-Thematic Workshops for city services (“City Covenant Coordinators”) responsible for implementation of the Covenant commitments,
Providing you with guidelines and good practice examples on organization of local energy days (City Covenant Days) and liaising with your local media officers to ensure the wide promotion of your local actions at European level,
-Supporting your liaison with the Supporting Structures and Benchmarks of Excellence.
- The European Commission will continuously seek new financial instruments adapted to the needs of the Covenant cities and negotiate better terms for the involvement of international financial institutions, national and local banks.
The Covenant of Mayors Office Media Desk will practically help you to implement your communication and promotion tasks through:
-Promotion of your local Covenant actions at European level through the Covenant website, Newsletter, European events (e.g. thematic workshops, annual Covenant of Mayors ceremony, and other events)
-Developing common promotion material downloadable freely from the Covenant website
-Organising Thematic Workshops for the city’s services (“City Covenant Coordinators”) and media officers responsible for the implementation of the Covenant commitments.

9. Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP)
Document formally approved by City Council
Concrete measures leading to 20% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020
Baseline emissions inventory
Scope: public and private sector actions
Guidelines based on practical experiences of cities, developed in co-operation with Joint Research Centre
Free choice of methodology in accordance with SEAP template
Personal advise of Covenant Helpdesk and FAQs on-line
What is a SEAP?
A Sustainable Energy Action Plan is the key document that shows how the local authority will reach its CO2 reduction target by It defines the activities and measures set up to achieve the targets, together with time frames and assigned responsibilities.
The overall guidelines, which will help signatories to prepare the Sustainable Energy Action Plans are under development.
What should the SEAP include?
Signatories can decide the format of their Sustainable Energy Action Plan. However, all signatories will need to provide some basic information about their action plan in English (template is under development).
The Sustainable Energy Action Plan should cover certain issues such as:
local target (baseline emissions inventory, overall target, sectoral targets),
measures per sector (e.g. municipal buildings, transport) and their expected contribution to the achievement of the target(s),
timetable for implementation,
attribution of staff and financial capacities.
The SEAP is developed on the basis of an Emissions Inventory :
Which is the baseline year for calculating the CO2 emissions?
The CO2 reduction target is at least 20% taking into account three possible cases:
Local governments which have prepared an action plan with concrete commitments in the past: Their own baseline is respected.
Local governments interested in committing, but not disposing of an inventory: The baseline year needs to be the year of the inventory.
Local governments with an inventory, committed to joining but not having prepared the action plan: In this case we recommend 1990 as a baseline year.
Which fields of action are considered?
It is expected that the local governments will take action in several or all of their possible roles:
consumer and service provider
planner, developer and regulator
advisor, motivator and a model
producer and supplier.
Which sectors are considered?
A Sustainable Energy Action Plans can include actions in the following sectors:
buildings, including new buildings and major refurbishment,
municipal infrastructure (district heating, public lighting, waste water treatment,
waste treatment etc), renewable energy investments in built environment,
land use planning,
urban transport and mobility,
citizen and civil society participation,
motivation towards intelligent energy behaviour (citizens, consumers and businesses).
What is an implementation report?
Two years after submission of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan, the local government will have to report on its implementation. This report aims to check the compliance of the interim results with the foreseen objectives. The methodology will be provided soon.
Covenant Helpdesk

10. Supporting Structures
WHO?
Regions, counties, provinces, agglomerations, mentor cities, networks of local authorities
WHY?
To assist local authorities lacking skills & resources to fulfil Covenant requirements
HOW?
Provide guidance and support for the SEAPs
Disseminate concepts of the Covenant
Monitor implementation of the Action Plan
Liaise with the European Commission
The Covenant of Mayors is open to cities of all sizes in Europe. Those cities and towns which do not have sufficient resources or to draft and implement their own action plan should be supported by administrations or organisations with such capacities. i.e. that are in a position to provide strategic guidance, financial and technical support to municipalities with the political will to sign up to the Covenant of Mayors, but lacking the skills and /or resources to fulfill its requirements, namely the preparation and implementation of Sustainable Energy Action Plan.
Supporting Structures
A First Type of Supporting Structures are defined as those public administrations .These Supporting Structures can be national and regional public bodies, counties, provinces, agglomerations, NUTS III areas, mentor cities etc.
Typical tasks include:
Promoting accession to the Covenant of Mayors among municipalities in their area and providing support and coordination to those municipalities signing up;
Providing technical and strategic assistance to those municipalities willing to join the Covenant but lacking the necessary resources to prepare a sustainable energy action plan;
Providing financial support or opportunities to the municipalities for expenditure related to SEAP preparation;
Supporting implementation of SEAPs and organisation of local energy days to raise awareness; and
Reporting regularly to the Commission on the results obtained and participating in the strategic implementation of the Covenant.
A second type of supporting structures are networks of local and regional authorities
Improving the Covenants’ impact by promoting the initiative among their members through their communication tools;
Liaising with their members and facilitating exchange of experience between signatories and candidates to the Covenant of Mayors;
Defending common interest both at the national and/or European fora in order to facilitate the accession to the Covenant of Mayors and the implementation of its requirements;
Playing an intermediary role between their members and the Covenant of Mayors Office;
Monitoring the implementation of the Covenant by their members and regularly report to the European Commission on the results obtained.
Supporting Structures also have a vocation to keep a close contact with the European Commission to ensure the best possible implementation of the Covenant. Supporting Structures are recognised by the Commission as key allies in conveying the message and increase the impact of the Covenant.
List of Supporting Structures (to be updated on the website :
Province of Huelva
Province of Milan
Province of Barcelona
Basque Country
Union of Bulgarian Black Sea Local Authorities & Black Sea Regional Agency for Energy Management
Province of Jaén
Other important actors of the Covenant’s success are Local and regional energy agencies . They may provide useful support for Covenant signatories. For a list of local and regional energy agencies, signatories are invited to consult the ManagEnergy website .
Examples of support:
6/4/2009
Upon the agreements these two institutions have signed with the European Commission, they commit to promote the Covenant of Mayors within their territorial boundaries and also to provide Covenant Cities with technical support in order for them to implement their Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). UBBSLA unites 21 municipalities bordering the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The organisation announced that it would dedicate a € 2 million grant from the Norwegian cooperation in order to support their members who wish to join the Covenant of Mayors, and to help the cities of Burgas, Varna and Dobrich, already signatories, to prepare their SEAPs. The president of the provincial government of Jaén announced that a proposal would be submitted to the province council to allocate € 3 million to the municipalities, in order to support them in relation to their obligations within the Covenant of Mayors. This budget should be managed by the energy agency AGENER.

11. Benchmarks of Excellence
WHO?
Public or private body proposing a model initiative or programme
Endorsed by the Mayor of a Covenant city
Evaluated and approved by the European Commission
WHY?
To valorise and replicate sustainable energy model initiatives
HOW?
Share experience
Facilitate transfer of knowledge
Promote the Covenant
Disseminate information
Present the model initiative
Help implement similar approaches
Benchmarks of Excellence are key elements of the Covenant of Mayors. They are defined as those initiatives and programmes which represent a worldwide model of successful implementation of sustainable energy development concepts in urban settings. Any private or public body that has developed such a programme or initiative in at least one city and is endorsed by the Mayor of a city having signed up to the Covenant is eligible to apply to become Ben
To become a Benchmark of Excellence, a request should be sent to Covenant of Mayors Office (see link on
Your request should include:
-Contact data;
-Description of your initiative;
-Justification of expected benefits and advantages, focused on your contribution to reducing CO2 emissions at local level through sustainable energy approaches;
-Endorsement by at least one Mayor of a Covenant city – additional endorsements are welcome; and
-Other references.
Within the month following submission, the Commission services will either get in contact with you to request further information or take a justified decision to accept or refuse the application. In case of approval, successful applicants are requested to propose Action Plans to present and disseminate their Benchmarks of Excellence to the municipalities in the Covenant or interested in signing up to the Covenant, and to sign a collaboration agreement following the template published on Covenant website.

12. Why should your city join?
Because you
Receive full support from the EU institutions, Covenant of Mayors Office, Supporting Structures, Benchmarks of Excellence
Get access to financial resources dedicated to the Covenant cities
Communicate and exchange experiences with mayors of other European cities facing the same challenge
Get well known and recognised all around Europe for the objectives you set up and the effort you are doing to achieve them
Are among those who joined this European movement!
Because you want to make sure that your citizens do not miss this train!!!
Benchmarks of Excellence are key elements of the Covenant of Mayors. They are defined as those initiatives and programmes which represent a worldwide model of successful implementation of sustainable energy development concepts in urban settings. Any private or public body that has developed such a programme or initiative in at least one city and is endorsed by the Mayor of a city having signed up to the Covenant is eligible to apply to become Ben
To become a Benchmark of Excellence, a request should be sent to Covenant of Mayors Office (see link on
Your request should include:
-Contact data;
-Description of your initiative;
-Justification of expected benefits and advantages, focused on your contribution to reducing CO2 emissions at local level through sustainable energy approaches;
-Endorsement by at least one Mayor of a Covenant city – additional endorsements are welcome; and
-Other references.
Within the month following submission, the Commission services will either get in contact with you to request further information or take a justified decision to accept or refuse the application. In case of approval, successful applicants are requested to propose Action Plans to present and disseminate their Benchmarks of Excellence to the municipalities in the Covenant or interested in signing up to the Covenant, and to sign a collaboration agreement following the template published on Covenant website.

13. Hemicycle of the European Parliament,
Annual Covenant of Mayors ceremony
10th February 2009
Hemicycle of the European Parliament,
Brussels

14. Thanks to the commitment of hundreds of Covenant signatories,
millions tons of CO2
can be saved.

15. www.eumayors.eu CONTACT @-mail: info@eumayors.eu press@eumayors.eu
Available in the following languages:
BG CS DA DE EL EN ES
ET FI FR HU IT LT LV MT
NL PL PT RO SK SL SV NO Catalan
-> for cities having general inquiries, in case the on-line FAQs do not sufficiently respond a question
-> for media/journalists

16. Financial support
EIB facility and new facilities from 2010 onwards (IEE funding)
IEE programme priorities
Smart Cities within the Recovery Plan???
National and regional funding: supporting structures
DG AIDCO
Open approach for new things!!