A Covenant of Mayors investment forum focuses on the role of cities in the transition to green energy

On October 18, the annual investment forum of the Covenant of Mayors was held in the Belgian capital. The event is organized by the Directorate-General for Energy of the EC in cooperation with the Covenant of Mayors, the largest initiative in the field of sustainable energy development of European cities. On the Bulgarian side, representatives of the Center for Energy Efficiency EnEfect, the municipal network EcoEnergy and the Municipality of Gabrovo took part in it.

Important topics discussed during the event, which are of key importance for cities and regions, were innovative energy planning and climate change adaptation solutions. The public sector in Europe is already actively mobilizing investments in sustainable energy, as well as in the energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings.

Tanya Hristova, mayor of Gabrovo, ambassador of the Agreement of Mayors and chairman of the Bulgarian delegation to the European Committee of the Regions, outlined the possibilities for countering the energy, economic and geopolitical crisis in Europe.

"We, the municipalities, can be the driving force of the energy transition and have proven it many times with the undoubted success of the Covenant of Mayors and more recent initiatives such as the EU City Facility." We are additionally motivated by the EU's mission for 100 smart, climate-neutral cities, in which Gabrovo proudly represents Bulgaria together with Sofia", she pointed out in her speech before the investment forum and added: "All of us - the EU, national and local authorities , with the support of EU missions, we must jointly cultivate new ways of working and be even more effective in directing investments to projects with a long-term perspective and impact on our energy security and independence. We need to use scarce public resources to attract private investment; to develop an effective multi-level governance system that combines the EU mission with local and regional development strategies, smart specialization strategies, COVID recovery measures and innovation funding through the Structural and Cohesion Funds; to be transparent in our relations with our citizens and with businesses and to fulfill our promises to them, because we need their trust."

Mrs. Hristova pointed out examples related to Gabrovo's contribution in these areas: care for vulnerable citizens, especially in the area of ​​building renovation and renewable energy sources; the successful inclusion of the city in the EU City Facility initiative; his active participation in the Bulgarian sustainable energy financing roundtables under the BeSMART project, as well as with the practical application of energy outcome negotiation schemes (ESCo) in a completely innovative way for Bulgaria.

"For the first time, the message from these forums is so unified - the European resource should be directed primarily to the municipalities, because they are the most effective in implementing projects and attracting market financing," said Dragomir Tsanev, executive director of EnEfect. "This is what we also discussed last week in Brussels during the opening of our new initiative NECPlaftorm, this was the leading topic in the conversations with Frans Timmermans and Eliza Ferreira, this is what we hear today and we will certainly see as a practical implementation tomorrow." In Bulgaria, however, we need more municipalities like Gabrovo to present us as an equal participant in this process".

EnEfect and the Municipality of Gabrovo will present their visions for sustainable energy development on Bulgarian soil very soon - on October 20th during the Walk2COP27 online seminar, dedicated to the next global conference on climate issues, and at the end of November in Sofia, another one is coming a round table for the financing of sustainable energy projects, in which the new investment programs within the framework of the National Plan for Recovery and Sustainability will be discussed.