In April and May 2024, the Riga Energy Agency hosted a call for interior design ideas for the first Circular Economy Centre. The winning concepts and ideas have been incorporated into the ongoing design services procurement process.

In the meantime, the dedicated team at Riga Energy Agency has embraced “A Different Working Day” for two consecutive Fridays in July 2024. The staff of the Agency came together to clean, paint, and renovate the premises, ensuring the Centre will have a welcoming appearance.

Ieva Kalniņa, Project Manager of Riga Energy Agency says: “As employees of the municipality, our daily responsibilities typically revolve around computer work and occasional interactions with citizens.

In Riga municipality, we have an opportunity to organise a “different working day” when we – a municipal institution – are free to choose what we would like to do, whether it is planting trees, helping out in a zoo or anything else. We – Riga Energy Agency – decided to step out of our usual routines in the “different working day” and refurbish the premises of the Circular Economy Centre, a centre that is about to be established in the frame of the CURE+ project.

This initiative demonstrates our commitment to our community and sends a positive message: 22 civil servants volunteered their time and effort to benefit our citizens. This event was significant for us, not only because of the physical transformation of the space but also because it was a learning process for everyone involved. None of us are professionals in refurbishment, so we embraced the challenge and gained valuable hands-on experience.

By this initiative, we hope to create a more welcoming environment for the citizens who will use the Centre. This effort underscores our dedication to improving our city and supporting sustainable practices through the CURE+ initiative.”

Riga Circular Economy Centre is being established within the framework of the project “Centres for Urban Resources, Reuse and Remanufacture (CURE+)”. Once fully renovated and redesigned, the Circular Economy Centre will be a multifunctional place where citizens will get acquainted with the principles of the circular economy, as well as repair and prolong the life of different goods in a woodwork workshop; it will also host events such as masterclasses, seminars and lectures.

Riga Energy Agency is implementing EUKI project CURE+ in cooperation with the Tartu City Government, Municipality of Kavala, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and Elisava Barcelona School of Engineering and Design. The project aims to improve the management of construction and demolition waste generated by households through reuse and repair respecting the principles of the circular economy.

Four city baseline reports are prepared to describe current state-of-the-art situation related to local waste streams and local policies/ initiatives/ programmes/ innovations regarding circular practices. Studies are based on the desk analysis and interviews with the key stakeholders. The goals of the interviews are threefold: 1) to gather and validate factual information about current waste streams and related policies; 2) to discuss possible bottlenecks, challenges, and room for improvements in the current situation; 3) to discuss knowledge/capacity gaps among staff and public. The baseline studies generate valuable input for further implementation of the project – creation of pilot urban resource centres and developing policy recommendations.

Baseline study: City of Riga, Latvia. Sara Rueda Raya, Frazen Tolentino-Zondervan, Willem van Winden, Patricia van Hemert

Baseline study: City of Tartu, Estonia. Sara Rueda Raya, Frazen Tolentino-Zondervan, Willem van Winden, Patricia van Hemert

Baseline study: City of Kavala, Greece. Sara Rueda Raya, Frazen Tolentino-Zondervan, Patricia van Hemert, Willem van Winden

Baseline study: City of Barcelona, Spain. Sara Rueda Raya, Frazen Tolentino-Zondervan, Willem van Winden

Riga Energy Agency is implementing EUKI project CURE+ in cooperation with the Tartu City Government, Municipality of Kavala, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and Elisava Barcelona School of Engineering and Design. The project aims to improve the management of construction and demolition waste generated by households through reuse and repair respecting the principles of the circular economy.

Within EUKI project, Strategic Approach to Green Transition (SAGT) a workshop was conducted in the City of Tuzla, where the representatives of the municipality and their Business Incubator (BIT Centar) hosted the representatives of RDAPM. The two day workshop that took place on June 10 and 11 was attended by 8 participants from Tuzla.

RDAPM has been facilitating knowledge transfer within and beyond the Podravje region (Slovenia) for over 30 years. Currently, as the coordinator of the CCRI pilot region and a CSS demonstration within the Horizon project CircSyst, RDAPM is a key regional player in the field of green transition.

Its expertise and experience have not gone unnoticed. Due to the similarities between the regions, Maribor was selected as an exemplary case by the City of Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) for preparing strategic documents for green transition.

The workshop was a result of successful screening interviews conducted using RDAPM’s methodology, which combines theoretical knowledge with practical experience.

As Borut Jurišić, the project leader at RDAPM, said: “Knowledge transfer is all about the small tricks that you cannot specify in the methodology, but need to apply in practice to get the job done. To teach those tricks, both sides need to develop mutual trust and understanding of the situation and, above all, conduct live sessions for the exchange of experience!”

Esmir Spahić, the head of development planning and management at the City of Tuzla, added: “We are now confident that Tuzla will become the first city in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a strategy for green transition by the end of the project.”

The EUKI project, Strategic Approach to Green Transition (SAGT), is enhancing the City of Tuzla’s capacity to prepare strategic documents that will facilitate the city’s green transition.

The 100 prozent erneuerbar stiftung has prepared a feasibility study in cooperation with the district (Powiat) of Hajnówka, Poland. This study investigates whether and how regional wind and solar plants can provide electricity for large-scale heat pumps that replace the combustion of coal in the existing district heating system in Hajnówka. The study was carried out during the project period from August 2021 to June 2023. The results show not only that a sustainable heat supply from renewables is technically feasible, but also that a conversion makes both economic and environmental sense in the long term.

Potential for a climate-friendly heating network

Reduction potential of greenhouse gases

The current district heating system in Hajnówka is largely based on a central coal-fired system. This system is very CO2-intensive, partly due to the use of low-grade coal in the furnace. The graphs show the actual state of the coal-fired boiler and various models with heat pumps, one with mains power, one with renewable energies and one with a storage tank. According to preliminary calculations, full implementation of the feasibility study would lead to a remarkable reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 84 percent, which means heat pumps are used that utilize renewable energies as an electricity supplier and a storage system is installed.

Heating costs with CO2 costs in €

At the same time, heat prices for consumers would remain largely stable over the operating period. The price difference between the scenarios is up to 90 euros per megawatt hour. In contrast, costs for customers would rise significantly if the existing fossil fuel system were to continue operating due to foreseeable increases in coal and CO2 prices. A price increase is to be expected from 2030 at the latest, when European CO2 certificate trading is extended to the heating sector.

The results not only illustrates the potential for decarbonization of the heating sector, but also emphasizes the importance of a sustainable and affordable heat supply for the city of Hajnówka.

The additional results are:

• Pricing is under regional “control” and not dependent on external factors.
• Changes in global fossil fuel prices or the foreseeable increase in CO2 costs then have hardly any impact on the heat production costs.
• The concept guarantees a reliable, affordable renewable heat supply.
• Despite the high initial investment costs of around €25 million, the follow-up costs are calculable and a large part of the added value remains in the region.

The concept is basically transferable to other heating networks. Because of that this project was followed by a similar one with the same objectives: To create a feasibility study to decarbonize a city in a coal region. The only difference is that the city in the new project has three times as many inhabitants: Renewable Power-to-Heat in the Bitola Region. The GAUSS Institute is the lead partner there and the 100 prozent erneuerbar stiftung is the project partner. This allows the experience gained from this project to be incorporated.

In the practical part of the training, participants were able to experience facilitated learning for themselves through a simulation in the classroom. The participants left the training motivated to actively transfer the knowledge they had gained to their classrooms. They also appreciated the two days of good companionship, great food and the caress of the warm spring sunshine.

The pilot training of the Classroom for Life project was carried out by Maja Vrčon, the project’s education activities lead; the online part of the training was supported by Manja Vrenko, the project’s expert collaborator; and the face-to-face part by Nara Petrovič, a well-known Slovenian fecologist and experienced facilitator.

The main causes of peatland degradation in France are drainage for agriculture and forestry, by urban development, by peat extraction and by overgrazing. The majority of peatlands in France are used for agriculture or forestry. Peat extraction still continues on about 10 peatlands.    

The search for ways to rewet peatlands is in full swing. One solution is to market the accrued CO2 allowances after mitigation measures have been implemented. Another solution is paludiculture: growing common reed or cattail, growing sphagnum to replace peat in horticultural substrates, and using wet meadows for grazing. However, these are not yet general economically viable uses. 

Farmers need support  

Clara Diebolt from Network of Chambers of agriculture from the Atlantic Area (AC3A) highlighted a poignant issue: farmers may become the overlooked casualties in the necessary rewetting of peatlands used for agriculture, a process vital to reducing substantial greenhouse gas emissions from their soils.  

Douglas McMillan, representing a cooperative of individual Irish farmers brings a unique viewpoint shaped by his work in Ireland. Despite differences, his conclusion aligns with Diebolt’s: farmers need support. He advocates for adaptive measures to facilitate a shift from traditional peatland agriculture to sustainable, climate-conscious farming practices.  

Bridging a critical gap: monetising rewetted peatlands  

Maximillian Loessl, leads the startup Aeco aiming to bridge a critical gap: monetising rewetted peatlands and building an investable, implementation-ready peatland restoration project pipeline. Aeco creates and markets CO2 and ecosystem service certificates by collaborating with financial partners and the Eurosite network.  

This workshop pointed out again the necessity to define specifications for the good management of the wetlands involving all the actors of the environment. Every site is unique. And it is therefore important that landowners, site managers, decision makers and other stakeholders work together to define the most appropriate local solutions, keeping in mind these 10 ‘advises to success’ for rewetting projects in agricultural areas:

1. Involve pioneer farmers, experts, specialized institutions to forge credibility to the statements and proposals

2. Involve people from outside the area to provide a different perspective and broaden the discussion 

3. Involve decision makers and local authorities 

4. Do not focus only on the farming sector for change: broaden the discussion to other sectors 

5. Alternative business models must guarantee farmer’s income. Farmers should be financially rewarded for rewetting peatlands, sequester carbon, improve biodiversity or water quality if this has an impact on their current productivity or workload  

6. Available financial support must be equal to or even greater than those for drainage-based practices 

7. Try to adapt existing models before shifting to new business models 

8. Aim for diversification of income sources 

9. Aim for clear political regulations on growing wet crops and rewetting soils 

10. Farmers should be an integral part of the policy making while designing financial incentives related to rewetting 

Presentations are available upon request. Please contact: anne-sophie.mulier@elo.org

Crowds of tourists meander through the alleyways of the Croatian island of Krk. The asphalt shimmers with heat, there is no turning back, only pushing forward. Rental prices are rising due to the numerous Airbnbs and vacation apartments. And then there’s the garbage left behind by the thousands of tourists who flock to the Adriatic every summer!

These pressing issues were the focus of the final conference of the IJP German-Central-Eastern European Program 2023/24, which this year examined the effects of mass tourism in Croatia. From May 12 to 15, ten alumni of the program gathered in Zagreb, Rijeka and Krk to discuss critical perspectives with local actors. 

We journalists from Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia met with journalists, academics and cultural workers over the course of four days. A particular focus was on the coastal region near Rijeka and the island of Krk, which are affected both by the renewed increase in the number of tourists following the pandemic and by the impact of the climate crisis. Croatia is already massively affected by climate change, like for example the flood disasters of 2023 and the heatwaves. We should learn more about all of this at the final conference. 

On Monday, after a bus ride to the island of Krk, we met our tour guide Marijana Jadro, who grew up on Krk herself. She showed us the oldest places on the island, including Fulfinum, a settlement from the Roman Empire. However, this place was interesting for us environmental journalists for another reason: Croatia’s only LNG terminal is within sight and not far from it is an oil refinery – a sign of Croatia’s efforts to enable an independent energy supply and, at the same time, the ongoing environmental pollution. 

The island of Krk, Jadro told us, has been plagued by mass tourism for many decades, with tourists coming to the island mainly in August. We were able to experience for ourselves what sustainable tourism can look like on the island. Villa Menta, run by Marija Koeffler, is built sustainably. She cooked for us with seasonal vegetables, purely vegetarian and with herbs from the garden. The inviting little house is powered by solar panels. “More people should do that here on the island, since the sun shines so much here,” said Koeffler.

Ivan Jurešić, director of the local utility company Ponikve, agrees. During a tour of their facilities, he explained the challenges and progress in waste management and water treatment on Krk. His conclusion: The introduction of separation systems for consumers can only work if the cities and municipalities also have a functioning waste system, such as a separation plant and a possibility to resell waste. 

Another highlight was the boat trip around the island of Krk, accompanied by marine biologist Prof. Robert Hofrichter. He explained the effects of climate change on the Croatian coast and the urgent measures needed to protect the environment and make tourism sustainable at the same time. Along the way, we learned useful facts about the vegetation, such as what sea fennel looks like or that most of the fish from aquaculture in Croatia is exported to France.

The conference ended with a visit to Rijeka, the former European Capital of Culture. Here, we met cultural professionals and visited the “Critical Tourism” exhibition, which deals with the impact of tourism on society and the environment. The author Doris Pandžić and Katarina Podobnik, herself a journalist and local cultural worker, gave us an insight into the local perspective and the efforts to find a balance between tourism and the quality of life of the locals over a drink in the Book Café.

In summary, the final conference of the IJP German-Central Eastern European program not only provided a platform for exchange and networking, but also valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities of tourism in Croatia. The perspective of Roma in Croatia, for example with regard to environmental racism or the work of (climate) activists, would certainly have made our perspectives even more diverse and an expansion of the program in this regard would be desirable. Nevertheless, we were able to return to our home countries with new ideas and critical perspectives. We can now incorporate the discussion about sustainable tourism into our journalistic work.

Since spring 2021, eight European Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHKs) of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) have been offering the qualification “Energy Scout” as part of the EUKI project “Young Energy Europe”. A total of 798 young professionals seized the opportunity between 2021 and 2024 and developed 361 practical projects in their companies. The Energy Scout practical projects demonstrate concrete measures to save energy and resources in 301 companies in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece. In total, 121,000 MWh of electricity and 124,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year can be saved in the eight countries. On average, an Energy Scout identifies potential savings and reductions of 152 MWh of electricity and 155 tons of CO₂ per year. Most of the projects could be implemented quickly due to short payback periods. With their practical projects, Energy Scouts not only contribute to more sustainable business practices in their companies. Through their practical approaches and the exchange of ideas among each other, they promote the cross-border transfer of expertise in the field of corporate climate protection in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.

The Young Energy Europe 2021-2024 brochure impressively shows how diverse and effective the practical approaches of the European Energy Scouts are – from upgrading conventional lighting to LEDs, equipping company roofs, car parking lots or open spaces with photovoltaic installations or optimizing the energy management in factories and cold storages.

To find out more about the specific approaches and characteristics of the training courses in each country click here

Community energy centred around renewable energy sources has been identified as one of the key measures to contribute towards the European clean energy transition. The framework towards their establishment and strengthening their position in the energy market has been set by the EU Directives 2018/2001 and 2019/944. Their implementation into the national legislation is, however, solely in the hands of the EU member states, whose swiftness and attention to detail may vary greatly.

The Community Energy in Central Europe (COMMENCE) project aims to foster the development of community energy projects across Central European countries. This interim deliverable provides an overview of the current state of policy and regulatory environment and conditions for the development of community energy in Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

The report highlights the types of energy communities, processes for establishing communities, and mechanisms for electricity sharing in each country. The report focuses on three aspects: the legislative framework and definition of energy communities, the conditions for establishing energy communities, and the state of regulation of electricity sharing.

You can find the full interim report here.

This Renocally report analyses the recast of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), the flagship policy for decarbonising buildings in Europe. After being adopted by the European Council on 14 April, the EPBD recast has been published in the EU official journal on 08 May 2024. The EPBD recast has been under revision as part of the European Green Deal, aimed at making the European economy, including the buildings sector, climate neutral by 2050. New elements in the EPBD recast include, among others, voluntary building renovation passport schemes, one-stop-shops, and a zero-emission building standard.

Local authorities have an important role in the implementation of the EPBD recast. The EPBD says that local authorities should be consulted and supported by national governments to enable successful transposition of the Directive into national laws. More specifically, the Directive says that local authorities need support in the form of technical information, useful tools, accessible financing and capacity building. Building renovation passports (BRPs), like the ones developed in Renocally, are excellent examples of useful information tools.

Besides the EPBD recast, the report looks at the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the REPowerEU plan. The EED, which was published in 2023, highlights the exemplary role of public authorities in saving energy from buildings, and sets out specific renovation targets applicable to public bodies. The REPowerEU on the other hand, highlights the importance of installing solar PV on roofs and heat pumps.

The webinar elaborated on those matters, and provided practical examples of BRPs in Romania and Bulgaria. Energy experts presented BRPs developed for an administrative court in the Gabrovo municipality of Bulgaria and a medical centre in the Lipănești municipality in Romania.

Presentations were followed by a lively and interactive Q&A discussion. The number of questions raised by the audience highlighted the need for clarification and guidance in relation to the EPBD text. The European Commission is preparing a technical guidance document for the Member States, however the Renocally policy report is a good starting point for those willing to be initiated on the topic.

The policy report is available for download in English, Bulgarian, Romanian and Slovakian here.