The European Energy Cities Association

Hi everybody,

hopefully you are enjoying summer time and using the holiday season to relax and hang out? 
Today we would like to draw your attention to an assocation which might be very attractive for one of the PLEEC partner cities: Energy Cities - the European association of local authorities in energy transition  - created in 1990 and today representing more than 1,000 towns and cities in 30 countries .
 

The Association is mainly aiming to strengthen local authorities’ role and skills in the field of sustainable energy, to represent their interests and influence the policies and proposals made by European Union institutions in the fields of energy, environmental protection and urban policy and to develop and promote local initiatives through exchange of experiences, the transfer of know-how and the implementation of joint projects. 

Whereas a municipality alone has little influence, Energy Cities voices its member’s demands towards the European institutions. 2014 the association has formulated 30 proposals for the energy transition of European cities and towns. The proposals are based on the observation and analysis of practical examples stemming from existing innovative practices in the member cities. The intention is to draw attention to these practices and emphasize their meaning for a sustainable energy production and consumption.
Find a summary of the 30 proposals for the energy transition of European cities and towns here.
http://www.energy-cities.eu/IMG/pdf/cahier_short_jan2014_en.pdf

For the 2015 Climate Conference in Paris (COP21) the association has created a roadmap of events, discussions and workshops before and during the conference. Through articles, publications and interventions in social media Energy Cities highlights the direct link between COP21 and its member cities’ actions. Based on a number of best practices, interviews and proposals, it aims to demonstrate that cities are already engaged in an energy and societal transition. The Energy Cities Association has observer status at the COP21.

Further activities of the association include the running of a good practice database on its website containing the description of over 360 actions for sustainable energy as well as action plans and case studies conducted in member cities, the lead of the Covenant of Mayors’ office as well as the organization of numerous initiatives and campaigns concerning sustainable energy production and consumption.

Visit the website for more detailed information on the Energy Cities Association
http://www.energy-cities.eu/

The Energy Globe Award

Hello everybody!

Get yourself prepared to read about the promising  Energy Globe Award. 

The Energy Globe Award is an environmental award that honours projects from all over the world which conserve and protect resources or employ renewable energy. The Award presents successful sustainable projects to a broad audience and thereby shows and informs about good and feasible solutions that already exist for many of our environmental problems. With some 800 submissions from 177 countries annually the award ranks amongst the most prestigious environmental awards worldwide. 

Everyone individual, private or public institution, companies, NGOs, etc. are eligible to submit a project to the Energy Globe Award and the submission is free of charge. Applicants can either be awarded with the International Energy Globe Awards the so called World Award or the National (country) Energy Globe Awards. 

The World Award has the five categories earth, fire, water, air and youth. In the category Fire, for instance, all projects which concern energy production, the use of renewable fuels, energy distribution and transport, energy utilization and energy optimization and efficiency are eligible for submission. In the category Air the focus is on projects involving optimization of combustion processes, reduction of greenhouse gases or emissions, indoor air quality and other projects that contribute to improving air quality or avoiding CO₂-emmissions. The 1^st price winners of each category are awarded a price of 10.000 €.

The National Energy Globe Awards are given to the best project submissions from a country focusing on energy efficiency, renewable energies and the conservation of resources.

The evaluation of the submitted projects is carried out by a jury of five internationally well known members that are all well acquainted in the field of environmental sustainability. The Award winners benefit from the award by receiving broad public and international attention that often generates great opportunities for them to carry on and expand their important work. Also it informs others about the manifold and creative solutions that already exist to tackle environmental problems and make life more comfortable and sustainable. 

Further information on the award and how to participate can be acquired on the website http://www.energyglobe.info/. 

The website also contains a project database listing all internationally and nationally awarded projects with project descriptions.