The years 2020 and 2030 are the time horizons of your commitment in the Covenant of Mayors. For this reason, and for the sake of comparability, all the Covenant Signatories should identify a target for 2020 and/or 2030. For instance, if your local authority has set a long-term target beyond 2030, an intermediate target for 2020 or 2030, depending on your Covenant commitment, should be set in addition. In the SEAP/SECAP template, you have the possibility to specify 2020, 2030 and a longer-term target (optional) of your choice in the Strategy part.

Estimates of CO2 emissions reduction (by 2020 for SEAPs and by 2030 for SECAPs) are required in the last columns of the 'Key elements of your Action Plan' table in the template. Covenant Signatories can decide to establish these estimates either 'compared to their baseline year levels' (see option 1) or 'based on the results of their latest inventory year' (see option 2).

Example

Baseline year: 1990

Total CO2 emissions in the baseline year: 1 million tons

Overall CO2 reduction target: 25% by 2020, i.e. 250 000 tons

Total CO2 emissions in 2009: 900 000 tons, a per a recent CO2 emissions inventory

Option 1: Take the results of your Baseline Emission Inventory as a reference, and evaluate the expected contribution of each sector to the overall CO2 reduction target

Under this option, the sum of the CO2 reductions expected in the various sectors should correspond to the overall CO2 reduction target. In the example above, this should thus correspond to 250 000 tons.

Option 2: Take the results of your latest emission inventory as a reference, and evaluate the expected contribution of each sector to the remaining effort needed to reach the overall 2020 objective

Under this option, the sum of the CO2 reductions expected in the various sectors should correspond to the remaining effort. In the example above, this corresponds to 150 000 tons: since you have already achieved 100 000 tons of CO2 emission reduction since 1990, you 'only' aim at reducing further 150 000 tons of CO2 overall. This option is only valid if you have carried out a recent monitoring emissions inventory and you have reported on it in the SEAP/SECAP template.

Notes:

- These estimates are compulsory at the sectoral level for the sectors where you have defined actions in your action plan.

- If you have opted for a recent baseline year, those two options should lead to identical figures. These options were designed to facilitate the work of cities having opted for a baseline year that is far in the past (e.g. 1990).

- Graphical highlights based on these figures will be published on the Covenant of Mayors website, under the signatory profiles.

If you have already implemented emission reduction actions, the results are visible when comparing the Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) with subsequent inventories. You can describe these actions in both the action plan and the monitoring reports. It is not necessary to report on past (completed) actions in the action plan template, as at this stage you are defining the actions you plan to implement in order to reach the target set If you opt by including past actions in your action plan, you could select some of them as “Benchmarks of Excellence” within your template and have these actions highlighted in the “Benchmarks of Excellence” catalogue in the Covenant website.

When submitting their action plan, Covenant signatories are required to fill in their Baseline Emission Inventory as part of their template. In addition, they are strongly encouraged to include information on their subsequent inventories, the so-called Monitoring Emission Inventories (MEIs), when existing (especially the most recent one). For example, several Covenant Signatories have carried out a Baseline Emission Inventory for the year 1990 and then have included more recent inventories (MEIs) in their action plan template.

The official submission of your action to the Covenant of Mayors has to be done using the online template available in the Covenant website restricted area: 'My Covenant'.

An Excel version of the SECAP template is available in the website library for download. This Excel-based template is an offline working version of the official online template which has to be completed in English and submitted online. Please note that it is not possible to export the data entered in the Excel to the online platform and vice-versa.

The Covenant of Mayors reporting templates provide signatories with a structured manner of summarizing the key elements of their action plan and tracking of implementation during the monitoring phase. It has been developed by the Covenant of Mayors Office and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre with the collaboration of a group of practitioners from local and regional authorities.

When signatories submit their action plan document (in their national language), they are at the same time required to complete an online template available via the Covenant website restricted area: ‘My Covenant’ in English. Only after this process is completed, the official submission of the action plan to the Covenant of Mayors takes place.

The SEAP template, currently used by signatories of the Covenant of Mayors 2020 framework, include three main parts:

Overall strategy: specifying the overall CO2 emissions reduction target, the vision the attribution of staff and financial capacities, the involvement of stakeholders and citizens among others.

• Emission Inventories: indicating the current level of final energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions by energy carrier and by sector.
• Action Plan: defining the list of key actions set up to put the overall strategy into action, together with timeframes, assigned responsibilities, allocated budgets and estimates of the impacts.

Please consult the ‘Reporting Guidelines on Sustainable Energy Action Plan and Monitoring’ for step-by-step guidance available in the website library.

The SECAP template used by signatories of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, which includes the 2030 framework for mitigation as well as climate adaptation, include the following parts:

Introduction:

• Strategy: specifying the overall strategy to reach the Covenant commitments both for mitigation and adaptation. It includes the vision, the CO2 emissions reduction target(s), adaptation goals, the attribution of staff and financial capacities, the involvement of stakeholders and citizens among others.

Section I: Energy and climate mitigation:

• Emission Inventories: indicating the current level of final energy consumption and associated CO2 emissions by energy carrier and by sector.
• Mitigation Actions: defining the list of key mitigation actions set up to put the overall strategy into action, together with timeframes, assigned responsibilities, allocated budgets and estimates of the impacts.

Section II: Climate adaptation:

• Adaptation Scoreboard: providing a snapshot of the local authorities’ status in the adaptation process;
• Risks and Vulnerabilities: determining the potential sectors and the level of risk climate change poses to them;
• Adaptation Actions: defining the list of key actions set up to put the overall strategy into action, together with timeframes, assigned responsibilities, allocated budgets and what risks and vulnerabilities the action accommodates;
• Indicators: Serving as a check-list and inspiration for a comprehensive local plan for adapting to climate change.

Please consult the ‘The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy Reporting Guidelines" for step-by-step guidance available in the website library.

Highlights of the collected information in the template are provided in a graphical format which is then shown in each signatory profile on the Covenant of Mayors website.

Once your action plan is submitted via the online reporting platform ‘My Covenant’, all the key results of your action plan are automatically displayed in a graphical manner in your signatory profile in the Covenant website. Furthermore, if you choose, all your uploaded documents become available for download in your public profile.

The action plan is afterwards submitted to an evaluation process carried out by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, which will check if the plan fulfils the eligibility criteria and send you a feedback report.

The evaluation process is mainly based on the description encoded in the SEAP/SECAP online template. Therefore, all Covenant signatories should ensure that information filled in the template is well-consistent with their full SEAP/SECAP document.

The eligibility criteria are the following:

• The action plan must be approved by the Municipal Council or equivalent body.
• The action plan must clearly specify the Covenant mitigation (i.e. at least 30% CO2 reduction by 2030) and adaptation commitments.
• The action plan must be based on the results of a comprehensive Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) and Climate Risk & Vulnerability Assessment(s).
• For mitigation, the action plan must cover the key sectors of activity (Municipal, Tertiary, Residential and Transport).

1. The Baseline Emission Inventory must cover at least three out of four key sectors.
2. The mitigation actions must cover at least two out of four key sectors.

The Covenant signatory will be contacted if the online template is deemed incomplete or if any additional information is needed.

Note:

The indicative timeframe for SEAP/SECAP analysis is six months.

For specific information on the assessment of your action plan the Joint Research Centre can be contacted via: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In cases where a Covenant Coordinator is coordinating the action plans, a grouped analysis can be carried out by the JRC in order to provide a faster feedback. If your province/region has developed a common approach to assist signatories with their action plans you are kindly invited to contact the JRC: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (more information here).

If the Covenant Signatory has not applied for an extension:

One deadline extension can be granted, provided that the signatory duly completes the online delay request form - please refer to the FAQ: ‘How to request an extension of your SEAP submission deadline?’

If the Covenant Signatory has already been granted an extension:

The global success and the credibility of the initiative depend upon the fulfilment of the commitments taken by its signatories. The European Commission, recognizing the efforts undertaken by other local authorities having complied with these commitments and respecting the termination clause of the Covenant of Mayors official texts (*), suspends Signatories in case of non-submission within the revised timeframe. However, the signatory status in the Covenant of Mayors can be re-activated at any time, provided that the municipality fulfils its first commitment and duly submits an action plan on-line through our extranet system (“My Covenant”).

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(*) Short extract from the Covenant official text (page 7):

“

Suspension in case of non-compliance: Signatories accept to be suspended from the initiative – subject to prior notice in writing by the Covenant of Mayors Office – in the event of non-submission of the above-mentioned documents (i.e. Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan and Monitoring Reports) within the established deadlines. This procedure ensures transparency, robustness and fairness vis-à-vis other signatories who deliver on their commitments.

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Note: With the new fully automatic and transparent- suspension procedure, the information on whether or not signatories are respecting their commitments is publicly available under their individual profiles - see the list of Signatories. In case of suspended signatories, the public profiles are greyed out with the following notification: 'Signatory on hold - deadline over'.

Signatories are committed to submitting a SEAP (1 year after the adhesion date*) / SECAP (2 years after the adhesion date*). If the SEAP/SECAP cannot be completed by that date, Covenant Signatories must request an extension. To do so, they are invited to fill in the online delay request form, available in 'My Covenant' (Covenant website extranet).

If you are an individual Signatory (i.e. not belonging to any official Covenant Territorial Coordinator):

A 9-month extension may be granted to individual Signatories where circumstances, outside the local authority’ control, delay the completion and submission of the SEAP/SECAP by the official submission date.

9-month Deadline Extension Procedure:

• Go to ‘My Covenant’ and log in with your personal identifiers.
• Click ‘My Action Plan’ > ‘Submit a delay request’ and fill in the form (all fields marked with an asterisk * are compulsory). The request must include the main reasons of the delay.
• Press the ‘Submit delay request’ button. You (and other contact persons associated to the profile) will receive a confirmation by email within 1 day.

If you belong to an official Covenant Territorial Coordinator

When supported by an official Covenant Territorial Coordinator (CTC), you may request your CTC for 18 months extension.

18-month Deadline extension procedure for the CTC:

• Go to ‘My Covenant’ and log in with their personal identifiers.
• Click ‘My Signatories’ > ‘Submit a delay request’ and fill in the form (all fields marked with an asterisk * are compulsory). The request must include: the main reasons for requesting a common extension and a brief description of the instrument(s)/service(s) developed by CTC to support Signatories.
• Press the ‘Submit delay request’ button. The extension will then be automatically granted to the associated municipalities. You (and the municipalities within your territory) will receive a confirmation by email within 1 day.

A group of neighboring local authorities joining the Covenant of Mayors and willing to elaborate a joint SEAP/SECAP is welcome to do so.

The group can choose between the following two collaboration options:

Option 1:

• Mitigation: Each signatory of the group individually commits to reducing CO2 emissions (SEAP). Because the emission reduction target remains an individual commitment, ALL signatories have to fill in their own SEAP/SECAP template, including their own CO2 / energy consumption data. CO2 emission reductions resulting from common actions identified in the joint SEAP/SECAP have to be shared among the signatories and accounted for in each SEAP/SECAP template, according to transparent rules described in the joint SEAP document. The joint SEAP/SECAP has to be approved by the municipal council (or equivalent decision-making body) of each municipality involved and uploaded by each of the local authorities onto their profile via ‘My Covenant’ (restricted area). The names of the local authorities that are covered by the SEAP/SECAP must be clearly indicated in the Action Plan. This type of joint SEAP/SECAP is described in the SEAP Guidebook (EN, RU).
• Adaptation (For SECAP only): Signatories can decide to prepare a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and its corresponding actions jointly or individually When joining as a group of municipalities with option 1, each municipality will register individually by filling in Local authority’s information & contact details, indicate it is a group of municipalities committing as a joint SEAP/SECAP option 1 by ticking the box in the online registration form and include the associated municipalities where required in the form.

Option 2:

Mitigation: the group of signatories collectively commits to reducing CO2 emissions. In this case, the emission reduction target is a commitment shared between the different authorities composing the group. Therefore, ONE single SEAP/SECAP template needs to be filled in by the group of Signatories. The joint Action Plan has to be approved by the municipal council (or equivalent decision-making body) of each involved Signatory and uploaded by the group onto a shared profile via ‘My Covenant’ (restricted area). The names of the local authorities that are covered by the SEAP/SECAP, as well as their level of contribution to the overall plan must be clearly indicated in the SEAP/SECAP document. This option aims at fostering inter-institutional co-operation by facilitating joint approaches with neighboring authorities. It is particularly recommended to small- and medium-sized municipalities lacking human and/or financial resources as well as to municipalities within the same urban areas.

(For SECAP only): Signatories can decide to prepare a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and its corresponding actions jointly or individually When joining as a group of municipalities with option 2, only one profile must be set up. This joint profile must include all individual adhesion forms when registering the Local authority’s information & contact details online. It shall furthermore be indicated that it is a group of municipalities committing as a joint SEAP/SECAP option 2 by ticking the box in the online form and include the associated municipalities where required in the form.

Important:

In both cases, the ‘group of Signatories’ is strongly encouraged to appoint a body/authority responsible for coordinating the work throughout the SEAP/SECAP development and implementation process. It could be for example one of the most active / advanced municipality among the group, the agglomeration in case of urban areas, or the province / region acting as official Covenant Coordinator (see the list of Covenant Coordinators). If you are interested in joining the Covenant of Mayors as a ‘group of Signatories’, please contact the Covenant of Mayors Office (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). The CoMO reserves the right to decline any application which would not comply with the eligibility criteria defined in the Addendum 1 to the SEAP Guidebook (e.g. for option 2: the group must be composed of small- and medium-sized municipalities within the same territorial area, indicatively with less than 10,000 inhabitants each).

Download the adhesion form:

Group of signatories - option 1

Group of signatories - option 2

The adhesion form must be signed by all local authorities involved in the group, after official approval by their respective municipal councils.