This year's Covenant of Mayors – Europe conference in Brussels (Cities on the front lines of the energy crisis), which will take place in Brussels next Thursday, March 30, will focus on the local response to the energy crisis, discussing how has shown (once again) that cities are leaders in Europe's energy transition and how these efforts can lead to long-term strategies to redefine lifestyles in the face of climate change.
The ongoing energy crisis, caused by Russia's aggression against Ukraine, directly affects cities, people and local businesses across Europe. The heaviest burden falls on European households suffering from increasing energy poverty, as well as on owners when girls and half started, affected by inflation and high energy prices, which have skyrocketed since the beginning of 2021 and still aggrieved by the war. However, due to economic necessity, the crisis is also having an impact on our lifestyles, moving us away from overconsumption behaviors to direct individual and collective actions towards practices that also fight climate change.
Once again, at the front line of the energy crisis, local authorities have shown themselves willing to respond. As well as offering ambitious local climate solutions, they launched immediate low-cost actions to reduce energy demand from public facilities and increased the share of renewable energy while supporting the most vulnerable local households and businesses.
Some of these examples were reflected in Cities Energy Saving Sprint, a joint campaign launched by Europe's Covenant of Mayors, the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions in response to Russia's aggression against
Ukraine. To address the common challenge, the campaign has had the dual objective of encouraging local governments to immediately reduce energy consumption ahead of the winter season, while standing in solidarity with Ukraine by reducing Europe's dependency on Russian gas, in line with the general objectives of the REPowerEU Plan.
Efforts to fill Europe's gas storage reserves by 2022 have been highly successful. However, the forecasts for the next winter seasons are not clear. Therefore, current emergency actions would have to be devoted to social norms to redirect our responses to the crisis towards structural behaviors of permanent consumers. Each municipality manages a large portfolio of properties (both public and commercial) and has jurisdiction over urban planning, infrastructure, public lighting and transport. Being the level of government closest to the citizens, they are well placed to allow behavioral changes and rationalize energy consumption, such as for household economic savings, while reducing costs in their territories.
Based on examples of measures to face the energy crisis and at the same time protect the residents in their territories, this high-level event will be an opportunity to show what is the current local response to the energy crisis. It will also be the opportunity to reflect on what support the European institutions and national governments can give to further strengthen these efforts in the medium term.
Local governments will exchange experiences with high-level representatives of European institutions, such as Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans and EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions. They will discuss how the EU institutions and authorities
National governments can further support local and regional efforts to reduce energy consumption and dependence on Russian gas in the coming years.
Mayors and mayors will present the short-term energy saving measures that they have implemented in the face of the crisis and how they can serve as an example for Europe's energy transition and zero emission targets, while guaranteeing energy security in Europe and protect the most vulnerable.
Pedreguer, represented by its Mayor, Sergi Ferrús Peris, will participate in the first table, Disruptive measures in times of crisis, which will focus on the measures that local governments have implemented to deal with the energy crisis. EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson will open the table with a keynote speech, focusing on the EU's emergency measures and the RePowerEU blueprint. He will present Cities Energy Saving Sprint, a joint campaign launched last year by the Covenant of Mayors, the EU Commission and the Committee on
the Regions, which highlights the efforts cities have made to reduce dependence on Russian gas.
Together with Ferrús (which, among other things, will provide measures implemented in Pedreguer, such as the possibility of schools reinvesting 50% of their energy savings, up to the transition of public transport and lighting systems, through the promotion of renewable energy communities), another 4 highest authorities of cities of different sizes from all over Europe will take part: Arianna Cense, Deputy Mayor of Milà, Italy; Zita Por los, Deputy Mayor of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Łódź, Poland; and Eric Piolle, Mayor of Grenoble, France.
Opening the second panel ("Protecting and empowering citizens in their response to the energy crisis"), the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, will deliver a keynote address, highlighting the importance of local government efforts to involve and work with
citizens both in responding to the energy crisis in the short term and in climate neutrality in the long term.
