[relevant_sector]

MENERGERS – Energy Managers’ Services in Municipalities

Improving municipalities’ skills and expertise through exchanging good EU practices to become competent energy managers and reduce energy consumption in Bulgaria and Romania.

Background

To achieve the European Union’s (EU) goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2050 involving local authorities in energy management is crucial. The EU’s launched REPowerEU Plan confirms the municipalities leading role in developing energy-saving measures tailored to their local context. However, in Bulgaria and Romania, this integral part of climate protection has not received sufficient attention so far. Competent authorities often lack relevant experience because of insufficient education and training opportunities in the two countries with regard to managing energy consumption, which is why they have little insight and control over it.

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Nature restoring the equilibrium, Photo: ©Unsplash

Project

Municipal administrations are essential in avoiding unnecessarily high levels of energy usage. Hence, the project implements measures such as research on good practices, legislation, and regulations. It is searching for curricula of energy manager trainings as well as the exchange of knowledge and experiences. National authorities’ representatives, civil servants responsible for climate and energy questions as well as environmental experts and energy managers then discuss these results within workshops, round-table discussions, public consultations, and conferences, which help develop a specified training programme. Eventually, these outcomes contribute to designing a free, easily accessible, and unique model for energy managers’ duties in Bulgarian municipalities. They furthermore create a communication platform and define criteria for renewable energy sources in Romania, which are then part of the requirements for funding local projects. In the end, the project drafts proposals to update the policy and legal frameworks in both countries after both the model and the results of the activities up to this point have been evaluated and verified. Additionally, the distribution of this information along with publicity actions increases awareness regarding the matter in the municipalities in both countries.

Project information

Updated: March 2023

Countries: Bulgaria, Germany, Romania

Project duration: 11/22 - 04/24

Funding: 470,037 €

Target groups: Cities, towns and municipalities, Experts, Public sector

Implementing organisation:
National Trust EcoFund (NTEF)

Project Partners:
Energy Cities Romania (OER), Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU), Sofia Energy Agency – SOFENA

Project Website:
ecofund-bg.org

Contact Person

Mrs Kamelia Georgieva

Organisation: National Trust EcoFund (NTEF)

Address:

67B Shipchenski prohod Blvd
1574 Sofia
Bulgaria

Email: kgeorgievaecofund-bg.org

EUKI

This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI). EUKI is a project financing instrument by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). The EUKI call for project ideas is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union (EU) in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

Contact

European Climate Initiative (EUKI)
Potsdamer Platz 10
10785 Berlin – Germany

Tel.: +49 (0)30 338424 570
infoeuki.de