AREA 21 + action

AREA21 + action practically demonstrated how CO2 emissions on a city level can be reduced through addressing the energy efficiency of the building stock.

The challenge

Cities play a key role in reaching European energy efficiency targets, but still face several problems that keep them from exploiting their full potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions. This is also emphasized in the EU’s recent strategy for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. Specifically, in the related “A clean planet for all” strategy, the European Commission explicitly mentions increased energy efficiency of buildings as one of its main strategic goals.

Area 21 + action built on the project AREA21. The project addressed energy efficiency of the building stock as a major challenge. The project implemented measures from the action plan in Tampere (Finland) and in Kohtla-Järve (Estonia).

Budgets

AREA 21 + action
in numbers

0.81

Million

Total
0.47

Million

Erdf
0.17

Million

Eni + Russia
0.00

Million

Norway

Achievements

AREA21 + action practically demonstrated how CO2 emissions of city districts can be reduced, e.g. by visualising energy, by educating citizens in energy consumption, by providing stimulus to buildings owners and by technical measures and reconstruction. The primary target groups of the project were local and regional public authorities being involved in energy planning and related processes in their roles as strategic energy planners as well as property owners.

Practical Outcomes

The project supported experts to integrate new tools in their working processes and to mobilise human, technical and financial resources in order to achieve the energy efficiency targets of their cities. Planning departments of local and regional public authorities responsible for strategic energy planning were enabled to better understand the end-user’s capacities and needs as well as the perspectives of energy utilities and public property owners. The project fostered the implementation of energy efficiency measures as well as the exploitation of synergies on a district level.

Moreover, it enabled the best usage of the energy-savings potential on a district level while cooperation enabled the coordination and supplementation of measures. The institutional capacity of local and regional public authorities responsible for strategic energy planning in the Baltic Sea region cities and regions was enhanced. The tested tools and approaches enabled them to strengthen the cooperation among key actors of integrated energy planning, in particular with energy utilities and public property owners, as well as to better involve building users in energy planning. As a result, the local and regional energy planning authorities in the Baltic Sea region had better capacities to optimize the use of energy on the district and regional levels, and thus improve energy efficiency in the whole Baltic Sea region.

Outputs

Institutionalisation and Sustainability Framework for EIDs (EID - Energy Improvement District)

The Transnational Coordinators Network (TCN) is established with the purpose to continue defining measures and instruments for EID sustainability. It will help to ensure the successful implementation of the Action Plans developed for EIDs in several cities. The work is summarised in a brochure on the EID implementation, which is available in the project library.

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Implemented measures from the Action Plan in Estonia and Finland

The outcomes of pilots and other activities are summarised in the guidance. The guidance aims to provide orientation for cities and regions that are interested to follow the example of the AREA 21+ action pilot partners in the successful implementation and administration of Energy Improvement Districts. The guidance shares lessons learned and demonstrates with practice examples that measures for energy efficiency across several different contexts can be successfully implemented with the Energy Improvement District concept as a framework and instrument.

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