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This year’s call for proposals from Intelligent Energy Europe closed on 8 May 2013. More than 500 project proposals were submitted, compared to about 350 applications for funding received in previous years.

Already Brussels is looking beyond 2020 for its climate and energy targets, with the European institutions in recent weeks endorsing 2030 goals and opening public consultation on the 2030 policy framework.

The ManagEnergy Local Energy Action Award honours the best-in-class sustainable energy initiatives taking place in Europe today.

To exchange experiences on local sustainable energy projects, town officials from the Belgian region of Flanders gathered last March for the Energy Day for Local Governments , organised by the Flemish Association for Cities and Municipalities ( VVSG ).

Poly-SUMP, Polycentric Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, aims to develop sustainable mobility planning methodologies in areas where transport needs are scattered in different towns or regions.

Tackling climate change and energy scarcity requires collective action on a global scale. It’s no wonder then that ManagEnergy has noticed the increasing cooperation between local and regional energy actors to implement sustainable energy actions. Collective purchasing, project bundling and regional cooperation are just a few of the strategies for achieving larger-scale sustainable energy actions.

Following the convening of the UNFCCC working group tasked with establishing the scope, structure and design of the 2015 global climate agreement, both ICLEI and the World Wildlife Fund(WWF) are encouraging cities to take part in the Earth Hour City Challenge (EHCC) to make exemplary local-level examples better known to the international community.

The deadline for the prestigious Global Green City Award has been extended from the 30 April 2013 to 15 May 2013.

Covenant of Mayors coordinating regions, provinces, grouping of local authorities and other eligible bodies supporting multiple municipalities in the development of their Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) are invited to liaise with the Joint Research Centre (JRC) to benefit from the aggregated SEAP feedback approach. Introduced in 2012, this method allows the JRC to rely to a greater extent on the contribution of Covenant Coordinators.

A recently published European Commission Report found that investments in energy efficiency are increasing.

Investment in energy efficiency is lacking. EUR 100 billion a year of investment is needed to meet the EU’s energy efficiency target of 20% improvement by 2020 but “we’re seeing only about half at the moment”, said Paul Hodson, head of Head of Unit C3 (Energy Efficiency) within DG ENER.

This event gives an opportunity to learn about the experiences and results from the 50/50 concept, which is an innovative and successful energy saving scheme applied in schools and public buildings. The 50/50 concept was tested and rolled out to 9 countries within the framework of the Euronet 50/50 project that is starting now into its second round. 50/50 smartly provides a solution to the split incentive barrier and builds capacity of public building users to save energy. In addition, it fosters the collaboration between school communities and their local governments, thereby becoming a powerful tool to achieve the goals of the Covenant of Mayors.

Save the date and come to the next European Forum on Eco-Innovation which will take place on the 23-24 May 2013 in Prague under the title Into clean air…Delivering innovative solutions for mobility, energy and ICT in cities. The event is organised by the European Commission’s Directorate General for the Environment and the Ministry of Environment of the Czech Republic.

In the region of Wallonia, Belgium, municipalities who commit to signing the Covenant of Mayors and develop a local climate and energy policy are entitled to benefit from funding support in the framework of the POLLEC campaign.

The project aims to promote the implementation of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy in tourist accommodation and buildings throughout Europe.

A household is said to be fuel poor when it meets difficulties or cannot afford its basic energy needs for housing. Between 50 million and 125 million people in Europe are estimated to be fuel poor.

ManagEnergy will soon announce the nominees for its annual Local Energy Action Award. The award is presented every year to public authorities and energy agencies at the local and regional level that have shown outstanding achievements in the area of renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean transport.

ManagEnergy reports from two of its most recent capacity building workshops in Bologna, Italy and Koprivnica, Croatia, focusing on SEAP design, implementation and financing.

Representatives from cities leading on sustainable energy actions gathered in Brussels at a European Commission forum organised by Intelligent Energy Europe and delivered their Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs) to the Commission. The event, titled Delivering on the Covenant of Mayors, marked the commitment of 189 communities in going beyond the EU’s 2020 climate and energy targets. The cumulative results of these sustainable energy action plans are projected to be 2,475,080 MWh per annum of RES production and 5,327,473 MWh per annum of primary energy savings.