COVENANT OF MAYORS GOING MOLDOVA
Municipalities of the Republic of Moldova become more and more in line with the European and global trends on sustainable energy and climate change adaptation. At this moment, 48 Moldovan cities and towns joined the Covenant of Mayors – the European flagship Initiative, which brings together municipalities that set ambitious local goals on energy and climate. This means that every second Moldovan citizen lives on the territory of CoM Signatories. How does it work in the country?
Moldovan Signatories receive continuous support from the CoM East Project Team and its partners, in particular in the field of improving their capacities in developing and implementing projects to meet their Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plans’ (SE(C)APs) targets. The project organises capacity building events for active Signatories stimulating exchange of information and transfer of the best international practices on energy efficiency and climate change, in particular through a series of thematic trainings and City2City programme. A special attention is paid to financing mechanisms available for the Signatories in order to implement their SE(C)APs as well as promotion of the new Covenant and its benefits amongst local population and media.
To help Signatories bridge the financial gap and implement their SE(C)APs, the EU funded Programme “Covenant of Mayors – Demonstration Projects” (CoM-DeP) was launched, under which in 2018 three Moldovan Signatories received the EU support in the amount of EUR 1.7 million (or 34% of the amount allocated for 5 countries) for implementation of their SE(C)APs. The total number of beneficiaries within three demonstration projects amounts to 20 000 inhabitants. It is expected that as a result of these projects more than 21 km of street lighting system will be modernized in Calarasi, four educational buildings will be renovated up to the best energy efficiency standards, whereas Festelita will pilot the production of its own energy from sustainable sources, both biomass and above all solar.
At the national level, the CoM East office in Moldova has established a fruitful collaboration with national ministries, agencies and other key stakeholders in charge of climate and energy policies such as Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, which is the Covenant National Coordinator in Moldova, Ministry of Agriculture, Regional Development and Environment, Energy Efficiency Agency, and Covenant Supporters – national associations of local authorities (CALM) and Alliance for Energy Efficiency and Renewables (AEER). A good synergy has been created with the existing projects and initiatives in Moldova, such as "Support to modernisation of the Moldovan Energy sector" project (STARS), financed by EU, Romanian Agency for International Development (RoAID), other financial institutions aimed at mobilizing funding for implementing projects on the CoM Signatories’ territory.
![Lilia Rusu Curchi photo](/images/Lilia_Rusu-Curchi_photo.jpg)
Country facts & figures:
- 48 Signatories
- Every 2nd Moldovan lives on the territory of CoM Signatories (50,1 %)
- 17 SE(C)APs developed
- 12 SE(C)APs accepted by JRC
- 12 Signatories with accepted SE(C)APs plan to invest 461 mln EUR to fulfill their commitments
- Covenant National Coordinator: Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure of the Republic of Moldova
- Covenant Supporters: Alliance for Energy Efficiency and Renewables (AEER), Congress of Local Authorities (CALM), Union of County Councils of the Republic of Moldova
Expected results of implementing 12 accepted SE(C)APs:
Commitments related to CO2 emission reduction (tons/year):
356 702 tons/year = annual emission of 228 687 new cars, planting of 16 mln trees, replacement of 12 mln old bulbs with LED
Energy savings to be achieved (MWt*h/a):
801 959 MWt*h/a = annual energy consumption of about 61 000 households
Three Demonstration Projects are being implemented in Moldova under the CoM-DeP Programme:
CALARASI: "Fireflies in the Heart of Forests"
Around 17,000 inhabitants of Calarasi will benefit from modernized street lighting. The length of the street lighting network will be 21 kilometers providing a 35% reduction in annual energy consumption.
CANTEMIR: “Cantemir thermal rehabilitation of educational buildings – CanTREB”
Two schools and two kindergartens in the city of Cantemir will benefit from a comprehensive thermal modernisation. Thanks to these energy efficiency measures, it will be possible to improve comfort conditions for over 900 children aged 2-17 years.
FESTELITA: “Creation of excellence center through piloting demonstrative new energy efficiency technologies and renewable energy sources in Festelita community”
The project provides for the establishment of a center of excellence in the Festelita community, Stefan Voda district, for the management of new energy efficient technologies and renewable energy sources; installation of street LED lighting; installation of solar panels in the kindergarten and a biomass system at four public institutions (school, kindergarten, cultural center and the town hall); planting 20 ha of energy willow; building a photo-voltaic power plant of 300 KW.
(Learn more about the CoM-DeP Programme)