PROSPECT Peer to Peer learning cycle on innovative financing schemes for energy and climate actions
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17 July 2019PROSPECT H2020, a new Peer-to-Peer (P2P) learning project has just launched its first call for applications.
Cities and regions are invited to apply online to take part the first P2P learning cycle on innovative financing schemes for energy and climate actions, starting in May 2018, either as a mentor or mentee. Deadline for applications is 28 February 2018
Three learning cycles will be offered in total. Applications are open for the first cycle. The second and third learning cycles will start respectively in September 2018 and March 2019.
A growing number of European cities and regions have engaged in the energy transition. They are taking local action to mitigate climate change, adapt to its unavoidable consequences and provide their citizens with access to secure, sustainable and affordable energy. Many are signatories of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy initiative and have developed Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030.
But securing financing and project implementation is still a problem. The most pressing challenges the cities face today are the restrained public budgets and the lack of staff resources and capacities to invest in local green economy. Public authorities often rely on a traditional approach to financing, governance and partnerships sometimes at odds with today’s fast changing environment, intensely steered by the civil society initiatives (e.g. emerging cooperatives, crowdfunding). Cities and regions need to leverage these emerging models and implement innovative financing schemes and incentives that would unlock citizens, local stakeholders, financing institutions and investors’ funds and facilitate their participation in local energy transition.
PROSPECT’s aim is to engage 150 EU local authorities in peer-mentoring activities on innovative financing schemes (EPC, soft loans, crowd-funding, green bonds, innovative partnerships, project pooling, etc) for their energy and climate actions (in public and private buildings, street lighting, mobility and cross-sectoral activities like energy production from renewables, adaptation measures, etc).
Who can join? PROSPECT is open to all local authorities: cities, regions and their energy and climate agencies or municipal companies, from EU-28 countries + Iceland, Norway, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, FYRoM, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Moldova, Switzerland, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia.
Detailed booklets on Peer mentoring and Study visits activities, as well as a FAQ and a Helpdesk are available on the PROSPECT website.
More information: h2020prospect.eu
The consortium behind the project is composed of Energy Cities, Eurocities and FEDARENE, as well as the City of Trnava in Slovakia, the Energy agency of Barreiro in Portugal, and the Regional Energy Agency of Upper-Austria.
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