The "10th Anniversary of the Covenant of Mayors in the Eastern Partnership Region" conference held in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, hosted more than 150 participants from Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and European Union member states.
The Covenant of Mayors is a major European Union initiative that brings together local and regional authorities who commit to increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in their regions.
Lawrence Meredith, Director Neighborhood East and Institution Building, European Commission said, "We must diversify energy sources and strengthen energy security, do everything so that future generations can live healthy. The Eastern Partnership region, represented by 460 signatory parties, is an excellent example for local authorities around the world."
Parties to the treaty previously had a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, but this figure was later increased to 30%. Cities have now set themselves more ambitious goals and committed to reducing emissions by 35% by 2030.
"For the countries of the European Union, this commitment is 40%. In the Eastern Partnership region, we had a discussion with the mayors, and they said that this is not real for them. After discussing with the European Commission, we decided to set the emission reduction commitment at 35%, so that it would be realistic," Christoph Fréring, responsible for the development and coordination of the European Covenant of Mayors initiative in the Eastern Partnership region, told EcoLur.
The Union of Armenian Communities is responsible for the implementation of the program in RA. Union President Emin Yeritsyan noted that 28 communities from Armenia have joined the "Covenant of Mayors", which, according to him, is a significant number, because around 80 percent of the country's population lives in these communities.
No direct financial support is provided to communities that have undertaken commitments within the framework of the "Covenant of Mayors". Expert support is provided to strengthen capacity and develop strategies to implement programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The major cities of Armenia, Yerevan and Gyumri, are part of this initiative. Within the framework of "Covenant of Mayors" in Yerevan, "EU for Yerevan" is implemented. "Solar Community" project, which kicked ff in 2017, will end in 2022. Project manager, head of development and investment infrastructure projects unit of Yerevan Municipality's development and investment programs department, Nana Abelyan presented the implemented works at the forum.
In her conversation with EcoLur, Nana Abelyan mentioned that as a result of the project, solar photovoltaic systems were installed on the roofs of 97 apartment buildings, which were connected to the elevator, indoor and yard lighting systems, thanks to which residents' bills for electricity in common areas decreased by more than 50% and 70 % reduced electricity consumption. According to Nana Abelyan, a reduction of 453 tons of greenhouse gas emissions is predicted after 1 year.
Nana Abelyan answered EcoLur's question whether the new ambitious commitment set by the "Covenant of Mayors" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030 is realistic for Yerevan. "It is realistic if we work in all areas."
Gyumri joined the Covenant of Mayors in 2016 and developed its Sustainable Energy Development Action Plan in 2017. According to Gyumri Mayor Vardges Samsonyan, within the framework of the subsidy program, around 50 photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 2 MW were installed on community buildings.
"In 2023, another 2.4 MW capacity is planned to be installed for the city's street lighting system. At the expense of the communal budget, it is planned to implement thermal insulation programs of buildings. It is also planned to acquire 10 electric buses," he said.
In his conversation with EcoLur, Vardges Samsonyan mentioned that the city is also a participant in "Green Cities" project, another project by European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. According to Gyumri Mayor, 23.7 million euros of funding was approved in 2017, out of which 6 million euros remained. The remaining 17.7 million euros, according to Vardges Samsonyan, were spent on street repairs, lighting works, and installation of solar panels. The money was transferred to the municipality through the RA government.
Gyumri Mayor did not specify how much greenhouse gas emissions in the city were reduced as a result of energy-efficient and saving projects, saying that they do not have a monitoring function.
"That is the biggest problem, in my opinion. Monitoring should be carried out in communities. We have a big shortcoming here, and the solution is for the state to force the communities to submit a report at least once a year on what projects have been implemented and the climate component of those projects," said Artem Kharazyan, an expert of "Mayors' Covenant East" project.
According to him, the key to success in this process can be one person. "We propose to create the Institute of Energy Manager, so that every community has an energy manager who, thanks to his enthusiasm and efforts, will advance the work. Sometimes one person is enough to change everything," Artem Kharazyan said. "Covenant of Mayors" operates on a voluntary basis. Communities make voluntary commitments and there are no sanctions for non-compliance.
December 06, 2022 at 12:37