Energy Transition in Europe | www.energy-cities.eu

The Italian city wants to achieve decarbonization well ahead of the EU 2050 deadline
The Municipality of Bologna presented its Action Plan for Sustainable Energy and Climate (SECAP) on 23 April, and it promises to convert the locality into a green, solar, electric, resilient, low-energy consumption and low-emissions city by the year 2040, a whole decade before the milestone set by the European Green Deal. The drafting of such a document comes as a direct result of the commitments taken upon joining the Covenant of Mayors movement.

The present study aims to present experimentation in addressing climate change in the case of the Nilüfer Municipality in northwestern Turkey and to examine the effect of joining an international network, as a key factor that may support urban climate experiments. The research is designed as a case study built on both primary and secondary sources. The Nilüfer Municipality is selected as the case area as it is the only signatory of Mayors Adapt and one of sixteen signatories of the Covenant of Mayors (CoM) among the 1397 municipalities within the Turkish Republic. Finally, this case study shows that although local governments have not been involved in the climate change policies at the national level in the Turkish context, the Nilüfer Municipality was able to develop its own experiments by being part of a transnational network, especially after signing the Covenant of Mayors in 2014. This finding leads us to the conclusion that supranational organizations can have significant impact on the climate experiments initiation of local governments that are important actors in the implementation of policies to address climate change as a global problem.

This study analyses policies and measures adopted and implemented by local authorities, signatories to the CoM, as reported in their Monitoring Emission Inventories (MEI). More than 12 000 policies reported in 315 MEIs have been assessed. The policies adopted in municipalities across Europe have been classified according to two criteria: (1) the type of policy tool and (2) the field of action. The aggregated policies have then be correlated with the grouping of signatories according to three "contextual" drivers. The contextual drivers allow identifying the factors that may influence the distribution of climate and energy policies and successful examples and methodologies that may be replicated in other cities with comparable characteristics and similar contexts. Overall, results show that the most common policies cover municipal assets and structures. The policies adopted by local governments do change with the population and, therefore, the focus on municipal assets changes with the increase of population, while local authorities’ Gross Domestic Products and climatic conditions have limited influence on the selection and distribution of policies in the framework of this study.

The Paris agreement recognises the key role of local authorities in reaching the 1,5 °C target. The Covenant of Mayors (CoM) has been an unprecedented phenomenon in the arena of transnational initiatives in climate action at local level. The initiative has expanded tremendously over the past 10 years, covering more than 9 600 local authorities and 327 million inhabitants as of June 2019. This study analyses policies and measures adopted and implemented by local authorities, signatories to the CoM, as reported in their Monitoring Emission Inventories (MEI). More than 12 000 policies reported in 315 MEIs have been assessed. The policies adopted in municipalities across Europe have been classified according to two criteria: (1) the type of policy tool and (2) the field of action. The aggregated policies have then be correlated with the grouping of signatories according to three 'contextual' drivers. The contextual drivers allow identifying the factors that may influence the distribution of climate and energy policies and successful examples and methodologies that may be replicated in other cities with comparable characteristics and similar contexts. Overall, results show that the most common policies cover municipal assets and structures. The policies adopted by local governments do change with the population and, therefore, the focus on municipal assets changes with the increase of population, while local authorities’ Gross Domestic Products and climatic conditions have limited influence on the selection and distribution of policies in the framework of this study.

The City's new climate action plan will outline specific goals and priorities for the next five years.