From 2024, overcoming energy poverty will become a mandatory commitment of the communities that have joined "Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy" initiative of the European Union, as Artem Kharazyan, an expert of "Covenant of Mayors: East" project, said during the workshop organized ahead of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28).
The commitments of the communities that have joined the Covenant have three main targets: climate change mitigation, adaptation and overcoming energy poverty, in terms of which the state has a greater role to help communities.
30 communities have signed the Charter in Armenia, 15 of which are active, 15 are suspended because they have not submitted an action plan within two years. A total of 10 Sustainable Energy Development Action Plans and 3 Sustainable Energy Development and Climate Protection Action Plans have been developed.
In cooperation with the UNDP office, a systematic online questionnaire was developed for the communities to collect baseline data: a questionnaire was also developed for the collection of baseline data needed for climate risk and vulnerability assessment of target sectors.
According to the expert, data collection has already started in 6 Stepanavan, Talin, Aparan, Spitak, Vanadzor and Akunk communities in Armenia. The questionnaire will be presented to two more communities of Ijevan and Martuni in the near future.
"Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy" initiative was launched in 2008 by the European Commission and its main goal was to bring together and support local governments (LGs) that have made a voluntary commitment to contribute to sustainable energy development, climate change mitigation and adaptation in the European Union (EU) policy implementation.
Currently, 11,830 communities have joined "Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy" initiative, 8,014 of which have submitted Action Plans for Sustainable Energy Development and Climate Protection (SEPAP).
"After 2021, the Treaty has adopted a 55% emission reduction by 2030 and even climate neutrality by 2050,” Artem Kharazyan noted.
"The main actors of the treaty are not the states, governments, but local governments. The main activity, as a result of which emissions occur, is in the territory of communities and cities," Artem Kharazyan stated.
December 06, 2023 at 18:56