Abstract
Interregional cooperation is fundamental to improve the effectiveness of local sustainable energy policies, as a response to overarching EU strategies and commitments. The RENERGY and RE-SEEties projects constitute valuable international cooperative experiences which proved that the transfer of knowledge among scientific institutions and local authorities can support a real synergy among politicians, businesses, and citizens and the achievement of the main targets of the Covenant of Mayors. Both projects produced a methodological toolkit aimed at supporting local authorities in creating a sustainable and resource-efficient future giving rise to local implementation plans ready to be endorsed. The RENERGY project, aimed at developing efficient-energy policies at regional level in an inclusive, integrative approach, focused on the transformation of urban communities from energy consumers to producers. The RENERGY toolkit had the purpose to provide local authorities with a roadmap to develop their Local Implementation Plan (LIP). The methodology was tested by the partners in their communities giving an innovative and positive approach to local energy policy whereas good practice exchanges, Energy Labs and Case Studies, contributed to the transfer of knowledge and to increase local community awareness. The RE-SEEties project was aimed at contributing to the resource-efficiency challenge by investigating energy consumption and waste production and disposal, examining the role of potential changes in consumption patterns and policy-making alternatives to support the achievement of resource-efficiency targets. A comprehensive approach to energy and waste flows at the urban level was thus adopted in order to reduce the overall carbon footprint of cities. A step-by-step methodology was devised to approach jointly energy and waste issues, whereas structured initiatives were promoted to support a change of behavior and tight cooperation between municipal officers working on different themes. The interest aroused within and beyond the involved communities, as well as the important results achieved in these two projects, testify to the importance of a proactive engagement of local governments and stakeholders on energy and climate themes, as well as the necessity of adopting a long-term comprehensive approach to ensure socially inclusive growth and a steady transition towards a low-carbon society.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Berardi, U. (2013). Stakeholders’ influence on the adoption of energy-saving technologies in Italian homes. Energy Policy, 60, 520–530.
Chen, W. M., Kim, H., & Yamaguchi, H. (2014). Renewable energy in eastern Asia: renewable energy policy review and comparative SWOT analysis for promoting renewable energy in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Energy Policy, 74, 319–329.
COM 105 final (2006). Green paper—a european strategy for sustainable, competitive and secure energy. Retrieved October 21 2015 from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52006DC0105.
COM 639 final (2010). Communication from the commission to the European Parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions. Energy 2020. A strategy for competitive, sustainable and secure energy. Retrieved October 21 2015 from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?qid=1409650806265&uri=CELEX:52010DC0639.
COM 21 (2011) Communication from the commission to the European Parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions. A resource-efficient Europe—Flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 Strategy. Retrieved October 22 2015 from http://ec.europa.eu/resource-efficient-europe/pdf/resource_efficient_europe_en.pdf.
COM 15 final (2014) Communication from the commission to the European Parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions. A policy framework for climate and energy in the period from 2020 to 2030. Retrieved October 21 2015 from http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52014DC0015.
Cosmi, C., Dvarionienė, J., Marques, I., Ferrão, T., Bloomfield, I., Brix, K. & Trummer, D. R. (2014) Local strategies for competitive, effective and secure energy uses: the RENERGY transfer tools and methods. In: N. Marchettini, C. A. Brebbia, R. Pulselli, S. Bastianoni (eds) The sustainable city IX (pp. 295–304).
Cosmi, C., Dvarionenė, J., Marques, I., Di Leo, S., Gecevičius, G., Gurauskienė, I., et al. (2015). A holistic approach to sustainable energy development at regional level: The RENERGY self-assessment methodology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 49, 693–707.
CoM. Covenant of Mayors (2015). Retrieved October 22 2015 from http://www.covenantofmayors.eu/index_en.html.
CO2ZW. Carbon footprint tool of waste management in Europe. User guide (2013). Retrieved October 21 2015 from http://icta.uab.es/ECOTECH/zero_waste/reports/Usermanual.pdf.
Den Boer, E., Den Boer, J., & Jager, J. (2005). Waste management planning and optimisation. Handbook for municipal waste prognosis and sustainability assessment of waste management system Retrieved October 21 2015 from http://www.iwar.tu-darmstadt.de/lca-iwm/lca_iwm/project_results/results/index.en.jsp.
Dong, J., Chi, Y., Zou, D., Fu, C., Huang, Q., & Ni, M. (2014). Energy–environment–economy assessment of waste management systems from a life cycle perspective: Model development and case study. Applied Energy, 114, 400–408.
Djuran, J., Golusin, M., Ivanovic, O. M., Jovanovic, L., & Andrejevic, A. (2013). Renewable energy and socio-economic development in the European union. Problemy Ekorozwoju, 8(1), 105–114.
Dvarioniene, J., Gurauskiene, I., Gecevicius, G., Trummer, D. R., Selada, C., Marques, I., et al. (2015). Stakeholders involvement for energy conscious communities: The Energy Labs experience in 10 European communities. Renewable Energy, 75, 512–518.
European Commission. (2010). How to develop a sustainable energy action plan (SEAP)—Guidebook. Retrieved October 21 2015 from http://www.eumayors.eu/IMG/pdf/seap_guidelines_en.pdf.
INTERREG IVC “Regional Strategies for Energy Conscious Communities” RENERGY. (2012–2014). Retrieved October 5 2015 from http://www.renergyproject.eu/.
Rae, C., & Bradley, F. (2012). Energy autonomy in sustainable communities a review of key issues. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Review, 16(9), 6497–6506.
RENERGY “Answer to the Green Paper. A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies”. (2013). Retrieved October 22 2015 from http://www.renergyproject.eu/.
RENERGY TOOLKIT: Transfer Tools and Methods. (2014). Report of the INTERREG IVC Project Regional Strategies for Energy Conscious Communities—RENERGY. Retrieved October 22 2015 from http://www.renergyproject.eu/.
RE-SEEties “Policy Recommendations Paper on Resource Efficiency. Policy guidance for local, national and European decision-makers” (2014). Retrieved October 22 2015 from http://www.re-seeties.eu/sites/default/files/policy_recommendations_on_resource_efficiency_final_final.pdf.
Ruggiero, S., Onkila, T., & Kuittinen, V. (2014). Realizing the social acceptance of community renewable energy: A process-outcome analysis of stakeholder influence. Energy Research & Social Science, 4, 53–63.
Salvia, M., Nakos, C., Di Leo, S., & Papagianni, S. (2014). Supporting cities’ efforts towards a highly efficient and sustainable resource efficient future: The RE-SEEties integrated toolkit. In: N. Marchettini, C. A. Brebbia, R. Pulselli, S. Bastianoni (Eds.), The sustainable city IX (pp 1075–1087).
Salvia, M., Di Leo, S., Nakos, C., Maras, H., Panevski, S., Fulop, O., et al. (2015). Creating a sustainable and resource efficient future: A methodological toolkit for municipalities. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 50, 480–496.
Santoyo-Castelazo, E., & Azapagic, A. (2014). Sustainability assessment of energy systems: integrating environmental, economic and social aspects. Journal of Cleaner Production, 80, 119–138.
Self Assessment Synthesis Report (2013). Report of the INTERREG IVC Project Regional Strategies for Energy Conscious Communities—RENERGY (pp. 1–104). Retrieved October 22 2015 from http://www.renergyproject.eu/.
Shearer, I., Zoellner, S, & Van Staden, M. (2013) ICLEI Europe basic climate toolkit. PART A: Greenhouse gas inventory manual. Retrieved October 8 2014 from http://www.iclei-europe.org/ccp/basic-climate-toolkit/.
Shi, X. (2016). The future of ASEAN energy mix: A SWOT analysis. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, 53, 672–680.
Simanaviciene, Z., Volochovic, A., & Simanavicius, A. (2015). Analysis of energy efficiency improvement and climate change mitigation policy in Lithuania. In H. H. Al-Kayiem, C. A. Brebbia, S. S. Zubir (Eds.), Energy and sustainability V WIT Press (pp. 739–749).
South East Europe (SEE) RE-SEEties Project “Towards resource efficient urban communities in SEE” (2012–2014). Retrieved October 16 2015 from http://www.re-seeties.eu/.
Steidle, T., Schlenzig, C., Cuomo. V, Macchiato, M., Lavagno, E., Ryden, B., Willemsen, S., Grevers, W., & Reinhard, J. (2000). Annex 33. Advanced Local Energy Planning (ALEP). A guidebook. International Energy Agency. Karlsruhe, Germany. pp 1:203. Retrieved October 21 2015 from http://www.ecbcs.org/docs/annex_33_alep_II_web.pdf.
Terrados, J., Almonacid, G., & Hontoria, L. (2007). Regional energy planning through SWOT analysis and strategic planning tools. Impact on renewables development. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 11, 1275–1287.
Wǖstenhagen, R., Wolsink, M., & Bǖrer, M. J. (2007). Social acceptance of renewable energy innovation: An introduction to the concept. Energy Policy, 35, 2683–2691.
Xingang, Z., Jiaoli, K., & Bei, L. (2013). Focus on the development of shale gas in China—Based on SWOT analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 21, 603–613.
Zhu, L., Hiltunen, E., Antila, E., Huang, F., & Song, L. (2015). Investigation of China’s bio-energy industry development modes based on a SWOT–PEST model. International Journal of Sustainable Energy, 34(8), 552–559.
Acknowledgments
This research was carried out in the framework of the Regional Initiative Project “Regional Strategies for Energy Conscious Communities—RENERGY” (Project no: 1245R4; Duration: 01/01/2012–31/12/2014) funded under the 4th Call for proposals of the INTERREG IVC Programme (Priority: Environment and risk prevention; Theme: Energy and sustainable transport) and the Project “Towards resource-efficient urban communities in SEE—RE-SEEties” funded by the European Commission under the 4th Call for proposals of the South East Europe (SEE) Transnational Cooperation Programme (Project code: SEE/D/0180/2.4/X, Duration: 01/10/2012–30/09/2014).
More information are available at: http://www.renergyproject.eu/ and www.re-seeties.eu
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cosmi, C., Salvia, M., Di Leo, S., Pietrapertosa, F., Loperte, S. (2017). Interregional Cooperation as a Key Tool for the Achievement of Strategic-Energy and Climate Targets: The Experience of the INTERREG IVC RENERGY and SEE RE-SEEties Projects. In: Bisello, A., Vettorato, D., Stephens, R., Elisei, P. (eds) Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions. SSPCR 2015. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44899-2_20
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44899-2_20
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44898-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44899-2
eBook Packages: EnergyEnergy (R0)