2nd CAN Working Group meeting: Activate neighbourhoods to implement local low carbon strategies –CAN partnership discussed financing gaps and activation tools
In Hastings, on the South East coast of England 30 representatives from cities, city networks and energy agencies from five countries in Northwest Europe met on 13-14 October 2016 to discuss how to foster neighbourhood action.
“In many cities local low carbon strategies exist. One crucial question for implementation is: How to close the financing gaps to enable citizens and neighbourhoods bottom up action on GHG reduction”, explains Jenny-Claire Keilmann, from the Lead Partner Climate Alliance. Innovative ideas and concepts were presented and discussed. A thematic group about financing schemes will develop the schemes in more detail, bringing together the experiences from Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands.
The resulting solutions for financing schemes and further tools developed by the international partnership will be summed up in a “Coaching framework” providing transferable advice to similar local authorities to facilitate implementation of low carbon strategies.
Host of the meeting was the social housing company Amicus Horizon, who introduced the partnership to the selected neighbourhoods to deliver exemplary CO2 emission reduction. Project partners got a vivid impression of the conditions of the neighbourhood and discussed the possibilities to assist people on low incomes to reduce their energy costs, to change their behaviours in energy use while at the same time improving their health. Project partners could visit a pop-up community energy advice centre, one of the activities by Energise Sussex, a community organisation, supporting behaviour change.
Projects partners are: Lead Partner Climate Alliance (network of European municipalities and indigenous peoples taking local action on global climate change), AmicusHorizon (social housing company) with Energise Sussex and Hastings Borough Council, Gemeente Arnhem, Brest métropole with Brest Energence, Energieagentur Rheinland-Pfalz, Stadt Essen, Liège Energie with Ville de Liège, Plymouth City Council, EPAM Seine-Aval (public development organisation)with Mantes-la-Jolie, Stadt Worms.
