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The fight against climate change will be won or lost in urban areas. A vast majority of the European population lives and works in cities, consuming an estimated 80% of the energy used in the EU. Local administrations, as the closest government level to citizens are ideally placed to address climate issues in a comprehensive manner. More and more cities are thus deciding to take up the challenge, as shown by the growing number of Covenant of Mayors Covenant of Mayors The Covenant of Mayors is the mainstream European movement involving local and regional authorities in the fight against climate change. It is based on a voluntary commitment by signatories to meet and exceed the EU 20% CO₂ reduction objective through increased energy efficiency and development of renewable energy sources. signatories Signatories Signatories represent cities, with different size from small villages to major metropolitan areas such as London or Paris, that have signed the Covenant of Mayors on a voluntary manner and are committed to implement sustainable energy policies to meet and exceed the EU 20% CO₂ reduction objective through increased energy efficiency and development of renewable energy sources. .

Signatories Signatories Signatories represent cities, with different size from small villages to major metropolitan areas such as London or Paris, that have signed the Covenant of Mayors on a voluntary manner and are committed to implement sustainable energy policies to meet and exceed the EU 20% CO2 reduction objective through increased energy efficiency and development of renewable energy sources. represent cities that vary in size from small villages to major metropolitan areas such as London or Paris. Within a year following their signature, Covenant signatories Signatories Signatories represent cities, with different size from small villages to major metropolitan areas such as London or Paris, that have signed the Covenant of Mayors on a voluntary manner and are committed to implement sustainable energy policies to meet and exceed the EU 20% CO2 reduction objective through increased energy efficiency and development of renewable energy sources. commit to implement Sustainable Energy Action Plans Sustainable Energy Action Plans A Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) is the key document in which the Covenant signatory outlines how it intends to reach its CO2 reduction target by 2020. It defines the activities and measures set up to achieve the targets, together with time frames and assigned responsibilities. Covenant signatories are free to choose the format of their SEAP, as long as it is in line with the general principles set out in the Covenant SEAP guidelines. on their territory, with the aim of cutting CO₂ emissions by at least 20% by 2020.

The list of cities that have signed up to the Covenant may be found below and here (PDF format).

Genova

Overview

Action Plan

Support

Signatory

Population:	661,887 inhabitants
Area:	243 km2
Country:	Italy
Website:	http://www.comune.genova.it

Covenant status

Date of adhesion:	10 February 2009

Contact

Main contact:	Mario Merello
Position:	Manager of Energy Sector

Covenant Supporters

Covenant Coordinators	Countries	Signatories
ANCI IDEALI The European Foundation of Cities	Italy	12
Climate Alliance Italy	Italy	17
EUROCITIES	Belgium	108

Action Plan in a Nutshell

Date of formal approval:	5 August 2010
Overall CO₂ emission reduction target:	23%
Link to the SEAP website:	http://www.comune.genova....

Sustainable Energy Action Plan Documents

Title	Size	Language
SEAP Summary	2.59 Mo	en
Sustainable Energy Action Plan Comune di Genova	6.82 Mo	it

Disclaimer:
This action plan is subject to a verification by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The verification process is explained here. Highlights of the SEAP template will be shown publicly once it is approved.

Key results of the Baseline Emission Inventory

Final energy consumption per sector in 2005 (MWh)
Base year:	2005

CO₂ emissions per sector in 2005 (t)

Key elements of the SEAP

Expected CO₂ reduction per field of action (t) in 2020 from the base year level

112809 tons Transport	157896 tons Buildings, equipment, facilities & industries	244590 tons Local energy production (electricity & heat/cold)
11360 tons Land use planning	11360 tons Working with the citizens and the stakeholders	0 tons Other

COMO’s selection of key actions

Example of key actions that signatory intends to implement in order to reduce its CO₂ emissions.

The city of Genova is committed to a 20% reduction of its CO2 emissions in 2020 compared to 2005. The SEAP of Genova is an ambitious and comprehensive plan in which plans and programmes in other relevant areas have been integrated. A large number of ambitious measures are planned in all recommended key sectors of activity, leading potentially to a 23,7 % reduction of the CO2 emissions.

The general approach (political commitment, adaptation the of city structure, gaining support from the stakeholders etc) are addressed properly. There is an adequate SEAP monitoring and management strategy. The financial aspects are addressed but could be developed further.

There is a detailed baseline emissions inventory (BEI) in which industry has been excluded, as allowed by Covenant of mayors rules. In general the BEI is filled properly with the exception of some CO2 and energy data related to heat and electricity production and consumption that are not reported exactly according to guidebook recommendations.

The CO2 impact of most measures has been estimated, and each measure is described in detail accompanied with budget, timeframes, and responsible person/department. The plan distinguishes short term measures from long term ones, covering the whole time frame of the Covenant till 2020.

In some sectors, the plan is particularly well developed, with some far reaching measures, for example in the local energy generation sector, with many measures in this field, notably the construction of an energy recovery plant from an Urban Solid Waste treatment facility, the promotion of installation of micro-CHPs plants at hospitals, hotels, shopping centres and sports facilities, trigeneration developments and related district heating networks, measures to promote solar energy etc. Public and private transport is particularly well addressed as well, with the elaboration of a urban traffic plan, creation of protected zones and blue areas, extension of the underground, improvement of the public transport fleet, development of cycle paths etc.

Stringent regulations for new buildings are foreseen that should result in high quality and energy efficient new building projects. These regulations will be complemented with campaigns dealing with the new requirements; refresher/ upgrading courses for property managers; document checks so as to ensure the correct application of the building regulations on the part of architects; work-in-progress inspections; and checks of the correct application of Energy Certification. The existing building sector is addressed as well but there is room for additional measures to encourage the energy efficient renovation for the private existing buildings stock. Besides communication campaigns, the city intends to test and promote building regulations ("domotics"), which is an interesting innovative option.

As a result of this, our selection of key actions is the following:

- Buildings regulation

- Construction of an energy recovery plant from an Urban Solid Waste treatment facility

- Extension of the underground

CO₂ emissions per sector (t) – basis, achievement and expectations

Estimated CO₂ reduction per sector:

Buildings and others	Transport	TOTAL
-23%	-25%	-24%

N.B.: The CO₂ emissions of the "buildings, equipment/facilities & industry" and "transport" sectors in 2020 are estimated based on data provided by the Covenant signatory in its SEAP template.

This webpage is based on the SEAP template that the Covenant signatory has completed when submitting its full SEAP.

Last updated at: 13 June 2012

Disclaimer:
The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the authors. It does not reflect the opinion of the European Union. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

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