Growth in utility tariffs, significant dependence of economy on imports of the energy carriers, atmospheric air pollution and natural disasters caused by the global warming – these and other factors require finding opportunities to save energy resources and, consequently, reduce carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. A significant load related to solving the energy efficiency problems and implementing steps to modernize housing and communal services falls on the shoulders of the city authorities. They, along with expansion of the local authority (due to decentralization processes), receive new incentives to solve tasks that the central power bodies were solving until recently. Therefore, the local authorities today need support, clarifications, and the grounded action plan.

Covenant of Mayors – unique opportunity for a community to make the city energy efficient

Something that has long become a lifestyle in the European countries (energy efficiency and environmentally friendly behavior) is becoming more important for Ukraine only in recent years. One of the ways to be apace is joining the Covenant of Mayors – a leading European Union initiative which brings together the communities that have decided to improve energy efficiency of their economy and to reduce their CO₂ emissions. There are 6,456 signatories to the Covenant of Mayors in the world. Over 100 of them represent Ukraine. The Covenant of Mayors covers the local and regional authorities that undertake voluntary commitments to improve energy efficiency and to increase use of the renewable energy sources in their territories. In accordance with these commitments, the signatories of the Covenant of Mayors seek to reduce CO₂ emissions by at least 30% by 2030, thus contributing to development of an environmentally-oriented economy and improving the quality of life. In order to achieve this, the signatories of the Covenant of Mayors are developing a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (hereinafter referred to as "SECAP") that includes the planned measures and actions to reduce CO₂ emissions.

The first Ukrainian cities that developed the SECAP by 2030 with incorporation of the updated requirements were Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi and Izmail (Odesa oblast). SECAPS have already become for them the official documents approved by the City Council, and will further form the reasonable policy in energy efficiency and energy saving (Resolution of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City Council #321 dated 04.24.2017; Resolution of the Izmail City Council # 764-VII dated 03.31.2017). 

Five more cities in Odesa oblast – Balta, Bolhrad, Reni, Chornomorsk and Yuzhne – are developing the SECAPs (and like two abovementioned cities – with support of the USAID Municipal Energy Reform Project in Ukraine (USAID Project).

Planning and forecasting: what is a SECAP and what are its key elements?

The Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan is an extremely important and relevant document that is being developed and implemented by the cities around the world in response to the pressing environmental and energy challenges (greenhouse effect and related negative climate changes and the inevitable depletion in the near future of fossil energy resources – oil, natural gas and coal).

According to the Memorandums of Understanding signed in September 2016, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi and Izmail are among 35 USAID Project partner cities. The joint work envisages, in particular, support for SECAP development. Such a document for Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi was developed in a record time (3 months). The goals and tasks for the period of its implementation, characteristics of the main sectors of municipal economy, the list of investment projects and measures envisaged for implementation, the schedule and sources of funding, the expected results and the estimated vulnerability of each city to possible climate threats are highlighted on the pages of the SECAP. The integral annexes of each SECAP are the Energy Audit Reports of the main infrastructure sectors of the city (including a detailed description of the investment projects) and the Investment Strategy (justification of the sources and schedule for funding activities).

Sectors for development of which there is a common understanding of all local partners (executive bodies, companies, institutions, public organizations and residents of the city as a whole) were selected for implementation of the strategic SECAP objectives and implementation of the energy efficiency measures and projects on use of the alternative energy sources (AES).

Starting point towards energy efficiency: what and how much we should save?

A baseline emission inventory was developed for forecasting the level of CO₂ emissions and calculating the required reduction amount for each of the cities.

To determine the baseline CO₂ emissions, the method of selecting the base year is used. According to it, the most representative in terms of energy consumption and at the same time the most "energy-consuming" for both cities was 2015.

The strategic SECAP objective through 2030 is to ensure that CO₂ emissions in certain sectors will be reduced by 2030 by at least 30% of the baseline level (2015) by increasing the energy, socioeconomic and environmental safety of the city through reduction of consumption of fossil fuels, inter alia through their substitution with the alternative and renewable energy sources upon condition of proper quality of the housing and communal services and improved quality of life of the municipal community.

BILHOROD-DNISTROVSKYI
Baseline year: 2015
Amount of CO₂ emissions in baseline year: 178.3 th. t/year
Emission forecast through 2030 (BAU scenario): 232.7 th. t/year [+31%]
Amount and share of emissions reduction by 2020 envisaged in SECAP: 16.2 th. t/year [-9.1%]
Amount and share of emissions reduction by 2030 envisaged in SECAP: 62.0 th. t/year [-34.8%]

IZMAIL
Baseline year: 2015
Amount of CO₂ emissions in baseline year: 237.7 th. t/year
Emission forecast through 2030 (BAU scenario): 316.5 th. t/year [+33%]
Amount and share of emissions reduction by 2020 envisaged in SECAP: 20.3 th. t/year [-8.5%]
Amount and share of emissions reduction by 2030 envisaged in SECAP: 80.8 th. t/year [-34%]

In calculating the baseline inventory, distribution of total emissions by sectors of the municipal economy was performed. Those sectors that have a significant share in total emissions are a priority for reducing energy consumption.

What the city obtains as a result: expected amounts of funding for energy efficiency projects and saving of resources

SECAP through 2020

BILHOROD-DNISTROVSKYI
Total proposed investment projects on energy efficiency and RES: 69 for total amount of UAH 1388.9 million (in prices as of 01.10.2017) implementation of which will allow to reduce consumption of energy resources by 159.1 th. MWh/year and also will promote reduction of CO₂ emission by 53,6 th. t/year.

IZMAIL
Total proposed investment projects on energy efficiency and RES: 73 for total amount of UAH 1718.7 million (in prices as of 01.10.2017) implementation of which will allow to reduce consumption of energy resources by 196.8 th. MWh/year and also will promote reduction of CO₂ emission by 70,1 th. t/year.

On the way to energy efficient behavior: not only technical modernization, but also change of daily habits

SECAP as a supplement to the investment energy efficiency projects and projects on increased use of ASE contains a separate Targeted Program for implementation of the information-and-outreach and organizational measures, which is financed from the municipal budget and is aimed at changing behavior of the residents, employees of the state public institutions, companies and organizations of the city to energy efficient behavior, both by raising awareness and gaining new knowledge and skills.

Numerous studies of the experts around the world prove that the baseline level of energy consumption can be reduced by 10% due to behavioral changes and introduction of the low-cost organizational measures by the co-owners of multi-apartment buildings, employees of the organizations or institutions. In addition to the direct energy saving effect in the public and residential buildings sector, the Targeted Program measures will help to overcome some of the constraints, for example, consumers' unawareness of their role in the energy-saving consumption of resources and, accordingly, lack of willingness to co-finance the energy efficiency projects in the multi-apartment buildings.

Total cost of implementation of information measures:

BILHOROD-DNISTROVSKYI
Assessed on the level of UAH: 7,2 million
EFFECT FROM implementation – reduction of CO₂ emissions by 8.5 th. t/year

IZMAIL
Assessed on the level of UAH: 7,2 million
EFFECT FROM implementation – reduction of CO₂ emissions by 10.6 th. t/year

Funding of energy efficiency measures: who will pay for project implementation?

Funding of the projects within the framework of SECAP is regulated with the help of targeted programs – multi-year programs on funding measures in every specific sector, which are described in detail in the document “Investment Strategy”.

Funding sources for SECAP measures:

BILHOROD-DNISTROVSKYI
Municipal budget with borrowings: 27%
Private investments: 27%
Funds of the residents: 44%
Own funds of communal utilities: 2%
Total in 2017-2030, UAH 2704.3 million*

IZMAIL
Municipal budget with borrowings: 41%
Private investments: 28%
Funds of the residents: 29%
Own funds of communal utilities: 2%
Total in 2017-2030, UAH 2842.8 million*

* Calculation conducted according to increase of investment value over time

Economic and environmental effect: expected results of SECAP implementation by 2030

BILHOROD-DNISTROVSKYI
Saving of gas of gas: 49 million m³
Saving of electricity: 69.7 th. MWh
Total aggregated economic effect: UAH 1.5 billion, UAH 439 million of which will be saved by city residents.

IZMAIL
Saving of gas of gas: 75 million m³
Saving of electricity: 345.4 th. MWh
Total aggregated economic effect: UAH 1.7 billion, UAH 838 million of which will be saved by city residents.

Climatic threats: save resources – save environment

SECAP developed within the framework of the updated requirements is a unique experience for Ukraine – for the first time the USAID project experts assessed climate threats according to the methodology of the Covenant of Mayors. The results of the assessment determined the risks of various climate threats (thermal stress, flooding, destruction of urban green areas, natural hydro-meteorological phenomena, deterioration of drinking water quality and reduction of its quantity, increase in the number of infectious diseases and allergic manifestations, problems in functioning of the energy systems).

For adaptation of the cities to climate change, a set of the relevant recommendations has been developed, it includes a list of organizational, managerial and engineering-and-technical measures; architectural and planning recommendations and restrictions, plans and projects for protection of the city territories, etc.

Also, the documents developed are large-scale and very promising documents. We would like to wish the cities success in implementing their planned measures and achieving the planned savings indicators in order to become a good example for other Ukrainian cities.