EC Issues Online Tool to Help Covenant of Mayors Reduce CO2 Emissions
October 6, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
At a workshop for the Covenant of Mayors on Oct. 6, the European Commission (EC) presented a new online interactive tool that will help participating European Union (EU) cities manage their Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs).
Launched by the EC in 2006, the Covenant of Mayors now has more than 700 mayors, representing over 110 million EU citizens, who have committed to reduce their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions beyond the 20% by 2020 target set by the EU.
To fulfill this commitment, each covenant signatory agreed to prepare and submit its own unique SEAP.
The first part of the EC's new tool, an online template that helps cities structure and present their SEAPs and baseline emission inventories, is now freely available online, supported by helpful instructions.
The covenant signatories are asked to complete this online template by providing information regarding their overall strategy, the details of their emissions inventory and the measures included in their SEAPs.
A help desk, jointly operated by the Covenant of Mayors office and the EC's Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy, is available for more information.
The covenant signatories are also receiving assistance from over 33 supporting structures - networks of local and regional authorities and public administrations that provide strategic guidance plus financial and technical support.
"With the SEAP template and guidelines, Covenant of Mayors enters a phase of technical maturity, enabling any city to turn commitment to action," said EC Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
Upon completion of the SEAPs, the key information will then be made publicly available through the Covenant of Mayors web site.
Source: European Commission (EC).