Ashmyany is the first Belarusian city to have officially submitted its Sustainable Energy Action
Plan under the Covenant of Mayors, aiming to reduce its overall CO2-emission by 47% before
2020.This became possible due to the support of the EU-funded Energy for Eastern Mayors
project (E4EM), which provides Covenant of Mayors Signatories with valuable help in
honouring their commitment.
In this project, which involves partners from EU Member States and candidate countries,
priority is given to implementing small-scale pilot measures, such as the energy refurbishment
of the Municipal Cultural Centre in Ocnita (Moldova), which included insulation works and
installation of a biomass system.
E4EM is at a turning point, a press release said. Activities in Belarus, Moldova and
Ukraine are being developed, and a new Ukrainian partner, Kharkiv Karazin National University, recently joined the project consortium.
The E4EM project contributes, through the development of a Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) and the definition of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) under the Covenant of Mayors, to reinforcing local NGOs, which in turn encourage local authorities to implement a more sustainable energy policy. A specific innovative approach of this action is the focus on small pilot actions.
The Covenant of Mayors is a European movement involving local and regional authorities, voluntarily committing to increasing energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources on their territories. By their commitment, Covenant signatories aim to meet and exceed the European Union 20% CO2 reduction objective by 2020...(link)