CoM East Secretariat Supports Ukrainian Cities in Developing Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans

The Covenant of Mayors supports cities in achieving their sustainable energy and climate goals. By signing up to the initiative, local authorities committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and increasing their use of renewable energy sources. One of the core documents that signatories had to develop and submit to the CoM is the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP).

The SECAP is a comprehensive action plan that outlines a signatory’s strategy for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, increasing energy efficiency, and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. It is a key document for achieving the CoM’s objectives and meeting its commitments. Signatories are required to submit their SECAP within two years of joining the initiative.

In Ukraine, the CoM East Secretariat identified the need for capacity building activities to support signatories in developing their SECAPs. The CoM East Secretariat conducted a series of activities to identify the needs of Ukrainian signatories. The results of these activities indicated that most signatories were interested in keeping cooperation with the CoM East Project and considered the SECAP as a key document for sustainable development. Developing SECAPs was a priority for newly joined signatories and those significantly affected by the war, whose action plans required amendments.

Most respondents indicated that they had sufficient human, technical, and financial capacities to develop their SECAPs using in-house staff with the assistance of the CoM East Secretariat. However, signatories needed support in understanding the entire cycle of action plan development, from establishing appropriate municipal structures and collecting baseline data to submitting an approved action plan online. Key topics that needed to be addressed included mobilizing resources, adapting municipal structures, developing SECAP content, collecting baseline data and developing baseline emission inventories, assessing climate risks and vulnerabilities, and addressing energy poverty.

On 27-28 February and 1-2 March 2023, the CoM East Secretariat organized trainings to establish local capacities needed to facilitate the timely development of SECAPs with greater involvement of local administration and personnel. The trainings were conducted to establish local capacities to facilitate the timely development of SECAPs and promote greater involvement of local administration and personnel. The trainings was combined with practical exercises and was led by project experts.

Developing and submitting a SECAP is a crucial step for signatories to meet their commitments to the CoM initiative. The CoM East Secretariat aimed to establish local capacities to facilitate the timely development of SECAPs and promote greater involvement of local administration and personnel.