Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PATH2LC (Public Authorities together with a holistic network approach on the way to low-carbon municipalities) Reporting period: 2020-09-01 to 2022-02-28 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project The newest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) highlighted once again the urgent need to tackle the climate crisis, on both the global and the local level. The report attests the “increasingly severe, interconnected and often irreversible impacts of climate change on ecosystems, biodiversity, and human systems” leading to “differing impacts across regions, sectors and communities”. Current natural disasters, as evidenced last year with the floodings in Ahrtal, Germany, or forest fires near Athens, Greece, among many others worldwide, illustrate the need to take action in reducing carbon emissions. The PATH2LC project aims to bring Public Authorities together with a holistic network approach to achieve low-carbon municipalities. A learning network approach aims to connect actors, allows them to share their experiences and to learn from each other. Learning networks have proven successful in company settings and lead to substantial progress implementing energy efficiency measures and in reducing CO2 emissions.The overarching objective of the PATH2LC project is to support policy makers and public authorities at local level in the transition process towards a low carbon society. Through a holistic network approach, stakeholders in public authorities are linked among municipalities in order to enable peer-to-peer learning and increase the engagement in the energy and climate transition. The network approach shall also accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plan (SE(C)AP) measures. The PATH2LC project will foster the exchange of existing knowledge and experiences among municipalities, enhance coordination among different administrative bodies within the municipalities and improve cooperation with local stakeholders and civil society.It will furthermore provide stakeholders in public authorities with the necessary planning and monitoring tools to implement transition roadmaps. The following five existing networks are the starting point of the project: UCSA - Joint Office for Environmental Sustainability (Italy), Sustainable City Network (Greece), OesteSustentável (Portugal), Cities Northern Netherlands (NL), Rhône Network (FR). They benefit from a well-established network approach of the so-called learning energy efficiency networks (LEEN), supplemented with in-depth capacity building and support regarding heating and cooling topics. Due to the international composition of the networks, cross-country experiences can be shared. The respective societies are going to benefit through reduced carbon emissions, cleaner environment and resulting health benefits. Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far The PATH2LC project started with a kick-off meeting in September 2020 and welcomed all project partners from the five European partner countries. The concept of the Learning Energy Efficiency Networks was presented and upcoming challenges caused by the Covid pandemic were discussed. Within the project, monthly committee calls and regular project meetings are taking place, which allow partners to exchange experiences and to discuss their respective approaches used in their energy challenges. The project meetings are open to both project partners and, in case of extended project meetings, also for a wider audience of municipal stakeholders in order for them to benefit from the existing expertise in the project. The progress of the measures implemented in each respective network is being monitored by our scientific partners from Fraunhofer ISI, to keep track of the measures taken and energy savings achieved throughout the project. The Local partners, based in Italy, Greece, Portugal, the Netherlands and France, hold regular network meetings. Part of these meetings is an expert input on a specific topic agreed on by all network members prior to the meeting, as well as exchange on the implementation process of measures including success factors and barriers. Both scientific as well as local partners take part in the monthly committee calls to update the team on newest developments in their respective networks. The capacity building aspect was achieved through webinars, peer-to-peer (P2P) sessions as well as trainings. The content of the events focused on:- ways to approach the energy transition process and assistance in the preparation of transition roadmap elements,- exchange of experiences and best practices in the P2P sessions and webinars as well as- heating and cooling aspects in the trainings.The main results so far consists of creating the network of European partners exchanging their approaches and learning from the existing expertise. Further, the PATH2LC homepage was launched and includes several resources: the five networks of the consortium are presented, and we set up a knowledge base which contains best practices and multimedia resources regarding decarbonization in communal settings. This knowledge base is accessible to the general public. For further information, see the PATH2LC website (https://path2lc.eu/). Throughout the project, we inform the public via dedicated pages on social media (LinkedIn and Twitter) about upcoming trainings, events and developments in the project. Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) In the PATH2LC project, the approach of a Learning Energy Efficiency Networks is used in a communal setting. This means communal decision makers are assisted in the development of ambitious long-term transition roadmaps. Through the webinars, P2P sessions as well as trainings, PATH2LC equipped stakeholders in public authorities with the necessary knowledge on technologies, energy planning tools as well as communication and participation processes. This shall enable them to implement concrete measures defined in their Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plans (SE(C)APs). Preliminary results show energy savings through the implementation of 41 energy efficiency measures in all participating municipalities in the first period of the project. We except the number of measures as well as the energy savings to increase until the end of the project. Reduced energy consumption means less money spent on fuels, reductions in emissions and less dependence on fossil fuels. Investments in energy saving measures potentially lead to a cleaner environment with ensuing health benefits for citizens. Furthermore, communication skills for participation and public engagement processes will be enhanced, which will lead to higher public acceptance for energy transition processes.Throughout the first phase of the project, we built capacity on heating and cooling planning in participating municipalities that will likely spill over to its respective societies. Through a training on financing of energy efficiency and renewable energies in the second phase of the project, participating municipalities will permanently improve their skills regarding the economic evaluation and feasibility of projects, suitability of funding schemes and how to identify and apply for funding. This capacity building allows effects on the local level long after the project has ended in August 2023. For the remainder of the project, we expect to accelerate the implementation of policies to support the transition to a low carbon society on the local level. Logo Poster Illustration
