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C O N F E R E N C E P R O G R A M M ES E S S I O N 1 - T H E C A M P A I G N F O R T A K E - O F F 1 9 9 9 - 2 0 0 3Session 1THE CAMPAIGN FOR TAKE-OFF 1999-2003SHARING SKILLS AND ACHIEVEMENTS TO FOSTERRENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPEThe European Commission adopted in November 2000 theGreen Paper ‘Towards a European Strategy for the Securityof Energy Supply’ and in December 1997 a White Paper‘Energy for the Future: Renewable Sources of Energy’.From this background, the European Community intends tofoster the market penetration of renewable energies byimplementing regulatory measures and Community supportand promotional programmes. A key initiative amongstthe promotional measures is the Campaign for Take-Off(CTO) for Renewable Energies. Created in 1999 and runningthrough until the end of 2003, it was designed to support thestrategy for renewable energy as a whole.Its aims were to provide quantitative targets for each of the8 renewable energy sectors covered by the Campaign, toserve as benchmarks for decision makers and planners, todisseminate successful initiatives in Europe, to spreadbest-practice and to raise critical awareness of decisionmakers at local, regional, national and European level. Anumber of initiatives feeding into the Campaign’s objectiveswere born out of this initiative under other relevantCommunity Support Programmes such as the ALTENERand 5 th /6 th RTD Framework Programmes.The Campaign also provided for a number of promotionaltools coordinated at European level such as the CTOConferences, the successful Renewable Energy PartnershipScheme and the prestigious annual CTO AwardCompetition. These were created to reward the efforts andcommitments made at local, regional and national level aswell as to expose these efforts as showcases for the generalpublic in Europe and beyond.The Conference will serve to take stock of the Campaign forTake-Off in its different areas, provide a discussion forum onits pertinence and, finally, will set the direction and conveymessages for a successor initiative at the European level.The debates will be complemented with the results of anImpact Assessment conducted during the last year of theCampaign, which will be made available to the participantsas a reference document, and this will be enriched with thesession’s conclusions. From this starting point, the specificpanels will present key success factors and ways to overcomebarriers for initiatives pushed forward in cities, regionsand islands. They will explore the driving forces behind the8initiatives, the challenges encountered, the replication potentialand the relevance of policy frameworks. The successfullyimplemented examples should help other communities byshowing the best ways of using the existing renewable energypotential, thereby not only contributing to local economicdevelopment and to the creation of jobs but also to environmentprotection and to social welfare. Finally, the conferencewill pave the way for the launching of an extended and broadersuccessor initiative by the European Commission, the‘Campaign for an Energy Sustainable Europe, 2004-2007’.THE FUTURE CAMPAIGN (2004-2007)The Renewable Energy Campaign for Take-Offwill evolve and pave the way for a new Campaign,the ‘Public Awareness Campaign for an EnergySustainable Europe’. Starting in 2004, the newcampaign will embrace both energy efficiencyand renewable energies and will allow Partnersto join the common effort of implementing programmesand initiatives in Europe and beyond.Today’s Renewable Energy Partners will naturallybecome Partners in the new Campaign.WHO ARE THE RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERS125 renewable energy programmes and projectsinvolving more than 700 partner organisations inthe European Union – municipalities, agencies,technological institutes, regional authorities,national institutions, universities and enterprises- have joined the Campaign as RenewableEnergy Partners in 2000-2003 and therebyexpressed openly their willingness to contributeto its objectives. Organisations and authoritiesfrom the Accession Countries joined theCampaign at an early stage with successful initiativesat local level or through joint initiativeswith other European Union organisations.Renewable Energy Partnerships in figures 2000-2003■ 100% Communities (28%)■ Regional (25%)■ Promotion (16%)■ National (13%)■ Industry (10%)■ Local Communities (5%)■ Developing Countries (3%)3%5%28%10%13%25%16%Source : European Commission, 2003
C O N F E R E N C E P R O G R A M M EPanel 1a:EXPERIENCES IN THE UTILISATION OF RENEWABLEENERGY SOURCES IN CITIES - HOW FEASIBLE ISIT TO DEVELOP THE POTENTIAL OF RENEWABLE ENERGYGENERATION IN AN URBAN ENVIRONMENT?Nearly 80% of the European population live, work anduse leisure facilities in cities, almost the half in citieswith more than 50.000 inhabitants. Nearly 70% of theenergy consumption occurs in cities. The developmentof sustainable energy strategies in urban areas is clearlya priority. It is not only the large numbers of energyconsumers which is at stake, but also the quality of theurban environment which is of fundamental concern,and for which the implications go far beyond the localcommunity. Apart from environmental considerations, alocal sustainable energy policy can have major impactson employment, social cohesion, participation of civilsociety, and economic development, as well as on urbangovernance. Examples have shown that proactive RESpolicies in cities can substantially increase the share ofRES, thereby improving living conditions and contributingto reaching the objectives outlined by the UnitedNations in their AGENDA 21 initiative.More recently, there have been clear signs of a politicalcommitment towards more integrated policies and conceptsaiming to convey sustainable energy strategies intocity policies. Such commitments aim at demonstratingthe benefits of a high degree of decentralised energysupply through recourse to new and renewable energysources, in combination with a conscious application ofleading energy efficiency measures in the various endusesectors. Recent European legislation in the energyfield, such as the Directive on the Energy Performance ofBuildings, pushes forward this integrated approach, andshould open the opportunity for more efficient consumptionthrough ambitious urban rehabilitation.How does the use of Renewable Energy Sourcesin cities lead to better standards of living anda reduced environmental impact?How relevant are policy frameworks to increasedRenewable Energy penetration in urban areas?How to tackle the challenge of integratedconcepts “high energy-efficiency / decentralisedRES” in urban energy planning?Several large urban areas across Europe have demonstratedan outstanding level of excellence with regard tothe integration of sustainable energy concepts, includingrenewable energies. In the North or in the South ofEurope, numerous examples illustrate how far awarenessof and commitment to renewable energy solutionscan make cities improve in their energy planning andresource management. Politicians, planners, developersand citizens are all key stakeholders in this process, andcan help to achieve a genuine change in the urban energyscene. This session will present examples of successfulrealisations of sustainable strategies, discuss barriersand challenges, assess the impact of policy frameworksand come up with future needs for public interventionon the level of municipal authorities, MemberStates frameworks and European intervention.Cities2500200015001000The Aalborg Charter, the Charter of EuropeanCities and Towns towards Sustainability is a uniquepolicy statement for local sustainable developmentworld-wide. Born in 1994 and initially signed by 80local authorities, it counts today more than 2000signatories - metropolitan areas, cities, towns andcounties. The Charter itself provides for a policyframework initiating processes to the creation ofsustainable development plans at local level, initiatedthe European Sustainable Cities & TownsCampaign to support cities on their path towardssustainability and calls upon the local authorities toengage in the Local Agenda 21 Processes.Signatories of the Aalborg Charter 1994 - 2003500080174305383446What recommendations and hints for successcan be derived from existing initiatives?What sort of Community intervention andpromotion would be appropriate for the next5 years in the form of a future “EuropeanPublic Awareness Campaign?”62788014061859What should be the role of the privatesector in this context during next 5 years?20301994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003Source : European Sustainable Cities & Towns CampaignR E S I N C I T I E S - P A N E L 1 a9
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