The conference was hosted by adelphi, in collaboration with Navigant, UfU, Energy Cities, FCiências.ID, CRES, NTEF, OER, Environ, SEVEn and PNEC.

Facilitator: Sonja van Renssen

Picture credits: Ingo Cordes

The conference took place in the framework of the project “Bridging European and Local Climate Action” (BEACON), funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.

BEACON Conference on Catalysing European Local Climate Action Summary and Key Messages -English- 21 May 2019 Heidelberg | Germany

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Introduction

On 21 May 2019, more than 90 experts and local government representatives from across Europe

joined the first BEACON conference to discuss how to successfully catalyse local climate actions.

The aim of the conference was to provide a space for local actors to network with colleagues and

exchange practical solutions for climate change mitigation. Thematic discussions ranged from fighting

energy poverty, municipal climate finance, open environmental data management and sustainable

mobility – showcasing the breadth and depth of local climate action.

A BEACON European map facilitated networking among the participants. To symbolize “We work

together for climate action”, participants pinned a postcard with their contact information and picture:

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Opening & Welcome

The moderator Sonja van Renssen kicked-off the event by introducing the conference’s objectives and

sessions. She highlighted that the conference was one of the rare opportunities for all BEACON

municipalities to meet in one place and personally connect. The conference was therefore designed as a

space to network among colleagues and exchange knowledge on practical solutions for climate change

mitigation.

Dr Silke Karcher, Head of Division, EU Climate and Energy

Policy at the German Ministry for the Environment (BMU),

welcomed the participants and highlighted that it was

exactly the people present in the room – mayors and

practitioners from across Europe, those who are driving

change locally – that inspired the Ministry to launch the

European Climate Initiative (EUKI) and support projects such

as BEACON.

In her opening speech, she welcomed the fact that “climate

change is in the headlines again” but also stressed that

Europe needs to accelerate efforts to achieve a carbon

neutral future by 2050.

Climate-neutrality as a long-term vision for the future

Keynote speech by Pedro Martins Barata, Get2C (Portugal)

What does a carbon neutral future look like? Pedro Martins

Barata’s keynote helped grasp the concept of a net carbon

footprint by 2050 by showcasing Portugal’s new national

roadmap for carbon neutrality. The roadmap models

development pathways in four key sectors and takes into

account cross-cutting social issues. The keynote highlighted

that achieving the necessary low-carbon transformation

requires the collaboration of all stakeholders and levels of

government.

Pedro Barata’s message to the local practitioners: Disruptive

technologies needed to reach carbon neutrality will allow

for a “re-localisation” of policy-making and control,

especially in the energy, transport and waste sectors.

Municipalities are therefore the drivers of this

transformation.

Please find the latest information concerning Portugal´s roadmap here.

“The transformation to a carbon neutral world is already happening. We do not have the choice to just leave things as they are, but actively shape this transformation.” Dr Silke Karcher (BMU)

“The important co-benefit of carbon neutrality is: We will become energy autonomous!” Pedro Martins Barata (Get2C)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Local transformation pathways

Facilitated discussion with Stéphane Dupas (Energy Cities), followed by mayor’s statements on their cities’ climate

change ambitions with Leszek Tabor (Mayor of Sztum, Poland), Przemysław Major (Mayor of Cieszyn, Poland),

Susanne Geils (Mayor of Ritterhude, Germany) and Piotr Zając (Vice Mayor of Zamość, Poland)

In his comment to the keynote, Stéphane Dupas agreed that

local governments are drivers of change and that they are

often even more ambitious than national governments. Local

governments have important leverage over key sectors and

planning tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: They can

often influence urban mobility and local energy production,

land use planning and housing (the “Bahnstadt” in Heidelberg

is an example), and they can initiate networks and push local

initiatives for carbon neutrality. Structures like the Covenant

of Mayors support municipalities in shaping adequate long-

term strategies and implementing climate measures. Yet,

cities cannot act independently of other levels of government.

Less than 10% of total CO2 emissions are directly under the

mandates of local governments. Cities rely on enabling

national policy frameworks and legislation to achieve their intended goals.

Following the keynote and comments, mayors from select BEACON municipalities took to the stage,

highlighting what they are already doing for climate-friendly, energy efficient and healthy cities.

“Cities are the driving actors of climate action – often their plans are more concrete than the national level!” Stéphane Dupas (Energy Cities)

“We are fighting energy poverty because climate goals are social goals.” Leszek Tabor (Mayor of Sztum)

“We install solar panels and work on

a strategy for e-mobility.”

Przemysław Major (Mayor of Cieszyn)

“Our focus is on citizen

participation.” Susanne Geils

(Mayor of Ritterhude)

“We are building new cycling lanes and offer bike rental stations.” Piotr Zając (Vice Mayor of Zamość)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Workshop Session I

WS 1: Fighting energy poverty: when climate action meets social needs

Speakers: Andreea Vornicu-Chira, City of Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Sam Nierop, EU Energy Poverty Observatory/

Navigant

Making the energy transition just, fair and equitable is becoming an increasingly important challenge as

50 million Europeans are “not able to adequately heat or provide other required energy services in their

homes at affordable cost” (European Energy Network).

What we have learned:

Workshop PPT: energy poverty

WS 2: Financing local climate and energy actions

Speakers: Moritz Schäfer, Navigant; Peter Schilken, Energy Cities; Václav Šebek, SEVEn; Jaroslav Klusák, City of

Litoměřice (Czech Republic); Piotr Zając & Katarzyna Urbańczyk, City of Zamość (Poland)

How can European municipalities mobilise the necessary investments for climate actions despite

strained public budgets? Experts and city representatives discussed different possibilities for unlocking

investment opportunities through EU funding, private sector partnerships and municipal own funds.

Moritz Schäfer introduced participants to the current proposal for the new EU budget for 2021-2027

and the related funding opportunities for local authorities, highlighting that the EU is climate proofing all

its programmes and investments. Peter Schilken mapped out strategic pathways for how to use

municipal own funds to finance climate change measures.

Data may be useful but not the most important. Vulnerable populations often lack trust in authorities and information on housing benefits. In addition, there may be legal challenges (e.g. use of illegal sources of heating).

One solution is to work hand in hand with neighbourhood or health workers, and to train people from the target communities, housing organisations or NGOs to go door-to-door to spread information on available support and energy efficiency tips.

Education and awareness programmes can help tackle costly behaviour in terms of energy. Simply providing free energy does not change behaviour.

“Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 is a core principle that should guide future solutions!” Andreea Vornicu-Chira (City of Cluj-Napoca)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Litoměřice

Jaroslav Klusák presented his city’s energy saving fund. What can be done and how? Local energy funds can be established to reinvest funds from energy saving measures into new projects, i.e. to motivate schools or kindergartens to save energy. In Litoměřice, the budget varies each year. Practical tips: Data collection and analysis are done by the city energy manager, who also prepares and oversees the implementation of new projects. A bonus can be awarded to the municipal officers involved in projects as motivation.

Zamość

Piotr Zając and Katarzyna Urbańczyk presented how the Zamość has acquired EU funds. What can be done and how? Zamość co-financed many different projects with EU funds, i.e.: sustainable urban mobility, public lighting, energy efficient refurbishment of buildings, and renewable energy for single-family houses. Practical tips: Environmental and climate change project proposals have a high chance of receiving funding. Collaboration between local, regional and national authorities is essential to draft good proposals. Invest in human capacity to write good proposals, i.e. by establishing a municipal task force with qualified staff.

The second part of the session was organised as a

roundtable discussion where participants had the chance to

learn from and interact with local government

representatives and experts who have engaged in

successful financing practices.

Václav Šebek introduced the participants to Energy

Performance Contracting (EPC). EPC allows for funding of

energy efficiency measures from financial savings achieved

through a decrease in energy consumption. An external

company is contracted to implement the measures. The

contractor covers the implementation costs through the

reduction in operational costs. Energy savings are

guaranteed as the company only gets payed if it performs

energy savings. Another advantage is that the contractor provides everything in one package. A

challenge is that it requires extensive preparation and documentation. It is only suitable for improving

the efficiency in larger public facilities (i.e. a package of various measures). As this is a competitive

tendering process, the selection criteria, scope of the assignment and rules of the engagement set for

the contractor are very important. Often, expert consultants are hired to help municipalities to manage

the EPC process.

Successful financing practices:

Workshop PPT: financing local climate action

“Make your municipal budget climate-friendly!” Peter Schilken (Energy Cities)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Addressing local concerns is more effective than presenting global impacts i.e. melting polar caps. It can increase citizen agreement for climate action.

Local authorities should communicate future local impacts and, at the same time, showcase their ability to provide solutions: “We act on climate change, we are here for you”.

Increasing citizen attention not only introduces co-benefits but also peer pressure, which can increase awareness in the community.

WS 3: Communicate climate change mitigation through climate impacts

Speaker: Inga Menke, Climate Analytics

The findings of the latest International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report identify key climate

impacts for European municipalities: flooding, storms, and droughts, which lead to economic losses and

building damages. Inga Menke showed how our actions today will impact future generations. But also in

the present, climate impacts like droughts, heavy rainfall or storms damage houses and destabilize

agricultural production. “Climate change is the new normal. Events like the hot summer 2018 are more

likely to happen”, she pointed out. Local governments need to address the concerns of citizens and

provide them with solutions on how to prevent such scenarios.

Group discussions along several environmental hazards highlighted how climate change is already

impacting so many of the BEACON municipalities and regions in Europe.

What we have learned:

Workshop PPT: communicating climate impacts

“We experience more extreme weather. In my home town farmers would grow cherries and grapes. In the last years they had the worst yield since 80 years and now fear of their income.” Teodora Stanisheva (NTEF Bulgaria)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Sztum How to practically facilitate equitable access to energy in the specific case of a pilot energy cooperative for an 8-family-building?

Smart metering is crucial to monitor supply and demand of energy and avoid conflicts among members.

Members of the cooperative get a pre-defined amount of energy from PV production proportional to their shares and the rest of their needs are met at market price.

Combine PV for power supply with gas-based cogeneration for heat production to increase the building’s self-sufficiency.

Bydgoszcz How to balance the city’s energy deficit in winter to achieve self-sufficiency?

It is risky to invite private investors to join the cooperative and build power plants

Consider energy storage for winter (expensive)

Negotiations with big consumers to reduce energy demand in winter

Change energy prices in the critical demand period (winter)

Case Clinics

The conference’s case clinic sessions provided select municipalities with the opportunity to present their climate

change mitigation actions and discuss specific challenges with a small group of colleagues and experts.

Case Clinic A: Poland: Local energy production & energy markets

Speakers: Leszek Tabor & Michał Mroczkowski, City of Sztum, Poland & Tomasz Bońdos, City of Bydgoszcz, Poland

In Poland, a new framework supporting the production and

consumption of energy on the local level has emerged:

energy clusters. These clusters are agreements between

municipalities, energy suppliers, R&D institutions, citizens,

formal or informal interest groups, and/or NGOs to produce

and consume energy locally. Since then, many Polish cities

are exploring ways to develop their own green, local energy

market. The city of Sztum implemented an energy cluster out

of municipal actors, NGOs, universities and private

enterprises. Technical questions on the optimal installation

emerged as well as questions concerning equitable usage of

energy. In Bydgoszcz the municipality made several

investments in local energy generation, but struggles to

balance the energy supply throughout the year.

What we have learned:

Workshop PPT: local energy production

“Our goal is to create a self-sufficient city area by 2030 and at the same time mitigate social exclusion.” Michał Mroczkowski (City of Sztum)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Combining data from different sources can create new information in terms of climate adaptation/mitigation. It can be helpful for i.e. fire prevention measures.

Good data management needs constant updates and new calibrations to be valid.

The use of open data by the public can be increased via information campaigns

Aggregated data can help to avoid data protection requirements

All relevant stakeholders of the energy transition should take part in data collection and usage of (open) data.

Case Clinic B: Czech Republic: Open environmental data management

Speaker: Jiri Tencar, City of Písek, Czech Republic

The City of Písek is investing in its vision to become a sustainable smart city. One of the cornerstones of

the city’s strategy is open environmental data management. Jiri Tencar presented the city’s current

efforts to create an online energy data portal that publishes data on heat, electricity and water

consumption of municipal buildings on an interactive map. Additionally, he shared his city’s heat

vulnerability maps. Visit Písek´s website for more details: http://www.smart.pisek.eu

What we have learned:

Workshop PPT: environmental data management

Case Clinic C: Germany: Fridays for Future: how can we engage youth for municipal climate

action?

Speaker: Severine Wolff, City of Eberswalde, Germany

In the school strike for climate "Fridays for Future" (FfF), students from around the world are deciding to

skip classes on Fridays and, instead, take part in demonstrations to demand that political leaders take

action on climate change. In the city of Eberswalde, FfF demonstrations started in January 2019 and

continue until today. The municipality welcomes the student’s initiative, although the city is in a legal

dilemma as going to school is compulsory. Severine Wolff from the city of Eberswalde introduced the

problem of how to react to the FfF movement adequately.

Generally, BEACON municipalities support the Fridays for Future movement and recognize the potential

as an inspiration for everyone! But better communication between young people and local governments

is needed to address citizen concerns.

“Make data available to as many people as possible- share relevant information!” Jiri Tencar (City of Písek)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Open dialogue with your citizens is crucial - local authorities should listen to what pupils have to say and get in contact!

Different solutions apply to different cases – there is no universal formula. See what can be implemented in your municipality and make transparent what is already ongoing.

Think about how best to enable the existence of movements like Fridays for Future. You can provide technical support, offer locations for meetings or help with logistics and catering

What we have learned:

Workshop PPT: Addressing Fridays for future

Workshop Session III

WS 4: Sustainable mobility strategies for local development

Speaker: Jessica le Bris, Green City Experience

How can municipalities develop sustainable mobility

projects that help increase the city’s attractiveness and

support the local retail and tourism sectors? A short

introductory quiz delivered facts on the often

underestimated value of cyclists for liveable city centres.

Switching from cars to bikes can have many advantages for

companies, including reduced annual operational costs.

Jessica Le Bris presented German examples on how to

reach out to target groups like trainees in rural areas, the

tourism sector or public servants. Initiating small projects

and test phases with e-cars or e-bikes has proven to

increase acceptability and demand for sustainable

transport modes.

This provided the foundation for a group discussion on

what is happening in the BEACON municipalities.

“Let´s make local action visible! Students don´t know what we are already doing in mitigation. It opens a new way of participation.” Carla Guerreiro (City of Setúbal)

“You need to give people the opportunity to experience new mobility options! We organized a project for young trainees, who first were reluctant to use e-bikes. After they tested them a couple of days, they wanted to keep them!” Jessica Le Bris (Green City Experience)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Studies show that the acceptance of biking is increasing – so jump on to this trend and spur the transition!

Cycling has many co-benefits like reduced space demands and reduced operational costs, as well as increased value of city centres and retail stores.

Create a group of like-minded people, companies and investors that may help demonstrate solutions (e.g. test-driving e-cars)

Networks of cycling friendly municipalities can facilitate the communication process on all levels.

What we have learned:

Quiz: advantages of biking for companies and local development

Workshop PPT: sustainable mobility for local development

WS 5: Incentives for energy savings in schools

Speakers: Florian Kliche, Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU) & Milko Mladenov, Mayor of Lyulin,

Sofia, Bulgaria

This session highlighted success factors and benefits of

introducing and implementing energy saving projects in public

buildings and schools. Florian Kliche showed examples from

schools in Germany, where 220.000 € could be saved through

improved energy and heating systems. To successfully

implement energy saving in schools, it is important to consult

external experts and integrate teachers, pupils and technical

staff into the project.

Case studies from the Lyulin district of Sofia, Bulgaria transferred

modern business models into the local public sectors and

increased the responsibility of involved actors. Behaviour change

was a main pillar of this project, where 13 schools took part.

Each school could reduce energy demand by 7% and was guided

by educational sessions. Milko Mladenov was not only able to

save money but also able to increase the wellbeing of his citizens

and contribute to the global process of climate action, which

earned him much respect in the community.

“In Kalamata we built a good cycling infrastructure and many people use it – especially for tourism!” Vassileios Dionysopoulos (City of Kalamata)

“The maintenance of buildings after renovation is just as important as the renovation itself.” Kamelia Georgieva (Ecofund Bulgaria)

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Saving money is possible and should be outlined as a co-benefit.

The important success factor of projects is to aim for the long run and offer (financial) incentives.

Long-term success is achieved if energy saving methods are integrated in the curriculum.

It is very important to bring everyone together – technical and educational staff as well as different political levels have to join forces.

What we have learned:

Workshop PPT: energy saving in schools

Site Visit: Heidelberg´s passive house settlement “Bahnstadt”

Speaker: Stefan Rees, Department of Urban Planning, City of Heidelberg

The district “Bahnstadt” in Heidelberg is currently the

world´s largest passive-house neighbourhood. On a former

116 hectare freight yard, a sustainable new neighbourhood

has been constructed to house up to 6.000 residents. The

new district was built to tackle population growth, urban

regeneration and climate change mitigation at the same

time. During the side visit, participants had the chance to

get to know the neighbourhood and learn more about the

innovative architecture.

PPT: Bahnstadt Heidelberg

“We already saved 7% of the energy use in Indira Ghandi school – both by refurbishment of the building and educational initiatives!” Milko Mladenov (Mayor of Lyulin Distrct, Sofia)

Despite the rainy weather, participants were eager to learn about the new district and see it for themselves.

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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“Movements like Fridays for Future already tell us that the pressure to act is high – we need to take responsibility for our future and those of coming generations now.” – João Mourato

Closing Plenary

Summary of conference‘s outcomes: Evi Tzanakaki (Centre for Renewable

Energy Sources and Saving, Greece), João Mourato (FCiências.ID,

Portugal) and Sylwia Słomiak (Association of the Wisłoka River Basin

Communes, Poland), moderated by Sonja van Renssen

In the closing session, the conference’s key listeners Evi

Tzanakaki, João Mourato and Sylwia Słomiak reflected on their

learnings of the day.

The conference showcased the collaborative spirit needed to

achieve successful climate change mitigation: participants

made use of the workshop sessions and breaks to network

and exchange on the benefits of climate action for their cities.

A wealth of small, but ambitious steps was presented

throughout the day.

BEACON municipalities are united in their motivation for

pushing forward climate action: enhanced living conditions

and economic savings are in the limelight. Action fields such as

tackling energy poverty and increasing energy efficiency in

schools make it possible to address climate and social goals

hand in hand.

These arguments are key to reach out to the local population

– a challenge yet to be mastered in most of the municipalities.

How can municipalities engage with a population that does

not know the risks and impacts of climate change? Local

governments must show concrete ways of action and

embody new behaviours. It’s a mindset challenge!

Joining forces can help leverage funds and access

information. Inter-municipal cooperation, as demonstrated by

the Association of the Wisłoka River Basin Communes, can be

an effective strategy, especially for smaller municipalities.

Municipalities can benefit from networks like BEACON to find

peers and solutions that might already exist – now it’s time to act!

Find more pictures from the conference here.

“Small to mid-size municipalities can also be change makers, it´s not all about big cities. But the national level needs to put more emphasis on local capacity for climate action.” – Sylwia Słomiak

“Local action cannot work if citizens are not involved! The motivation in Greece is to highlight economic benefits such as saving money.” – Evi Tzanakaki

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Conference Participants List

If you wish to contact a conference participant, send us an email at: beacon@adelphi.de

First name Last name Name of municipality/ organisation Country

Theodoros Agryropoulos Dorida Greece

Konstantinos Antonopoulos Dorida Greece

Myrthe Baijens Filderstadt Germany

Magdalena Bauer adelphi Germany

Iudit Bere-Semeredi Timisoara Romania

Tomasz Bońdos Bydgoszcz Poland

Kristen Brand Navigant Germany

Alexandra Bussler FCiências.ID Portugal

Urszula Byczek Jasło Poland

Tomáš Chmelík Přeštice Czech Republic

Jan Cieslar Rožnov pod Radhoštěm Czech Republic

Ana Cristina Costa Braga Portugal

José Maria Costa Viana do Castelo Portugal

Ivaylo Dachev Veliko Tarnovo Bulgaria

Kristina Dely Energy Cities France

Vasileios Dionysopoulos Kalamata Greece

Stéphane Dupas Energy Cities Germany

Yordana Eneva Pavel Banya Bulgaria

Katarzyna Fornal - Urbańczyk Zamość Poland

Thomas Freitag Pirna Germany

Susanne Geils Ritterhude Germany

Quentin Genard E3G Belgium

Vladimir Georgiev Samokov Bulgaria

Kamelia Georgieva-Nikolova National Trust Ecofund Bulgaria

Uwe Heitkamp Magazine ECO123 Portugal

Samuel Held EUKI (GIZ) Germany

Simona Iliescu Ramnicu Valcea Romania

Silke Karcher German Ministry for the Environment Germany

Beata Kempa Bydgoszcz Poland

Florian Kliche UfU Germany

Jaroslav Klusák Litoměřice Czech Republic

Iwona Korohoda Polska Siec Energie Cities Poland

Martina Krčová Kněžice Czech Republic

Jessica Le Bris Green City Experience Germany

Julia Legelli adelphi Germany

Anastasios Liapis Farsala Greece

Sigrid Lindner Navigant Germany

©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.

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Ornella Maggi adelphi Germany

Przemysław Major Cieszyn Poland

Miha Mariana Deva Romania

Pedro Martins Barata Get2C Portugal

Inga Menke Climate Analytics Germany

Alexandre Moreira Ansião Portugal

João Mourato FCiências.ID Portugal

Michał Mroczkowski Sztum Poland

Ulrich Müller Ritterhude Germany

Sam Nierop Navigant Netherlands

Perry Oehmigen adelphi Germany

Marie Peřinková Prachatice Czech Republic

Wojciech Piękoś Jasło Poland

Elpida Polychroni CRES Greece

Miloš Prokýšek Písek Czech Republic

Camelia Rață OER Romania

Ciurte Rodica Zalau Romania

Carlos Santos Setúbal Portugal

Ilias Savvakis Agios Dimitrios Greece

Moritz Schäfer Navigant Germany

Peter Schilken Energy Cities Germany

Lisa Schneider adelphi Germany

Heiner Schwarz-Leuser Schwäbisch Hall Germany

Václav Šebek SEVEn Czech Republic

Camille Serre adelphi Germany

Sylwia Słomiak Association of the Wisłoka River Basin Communes Poland

Liviu Stanciu Alba Iulia Romania

Teodora Stanisheva National Trust Ecofund Bulgaria

Lisa Strauch adelphi Germany

Dimitrios Sykaras Agios Dimitrios Greece

Leszek Tabor Sztum Poland

Irina Tatu OER Romania

Jiří Tencar Písek Czech Republic

Evi Tzanakaki CRES Greece

Jan Venclík Písek Czech Republic

Andreea Vornicu Cluj-Napoca Romania

Sebastian Witte Arnsberg Germany

Severine Wolff Eberswalde Germany

Rupert Wronski Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. Germany

Piotr Zając Zamość Poland

Michail Zouloufos Syros Greece