Report: SAVE Energy Agencies Charter of Cork 1998

The Energy Agencies Charter was launched officially during the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Local and Regional Energy Management Agencies held in Cork, Ireland. The text of the Charter is as follows:

Charter of the Regional and Local Energy Management Agencies in Europe

We, the undersigned elected representatives responsible for administering an Energy Management
"Agency" at a regional, municipal or intermediate level,

1. Whereas:

• energy management (meaning energy efficiency and energy savings and the utilisation of local or renewable energy sources) is a basic component of sustainable development;
• the solutions to most global environmental problems, and in particular the efforts to combat climate change, lie above all in energy management;
• approaching energy problems from the angle of demand from consumers, be they households, companies, or public authorities, is essential to have a significant influence on their choices and behaviour in order to limit wastage while improving the quality of life and the standard of living;
• owing to the large number of players involved and their wide dispersion the corresponding policies and actions must be decentralised to a regional, urban or intermediate level;
• even though they may not be under any legal obligation, it is the civic duty of the public authorities at the abovementioned levels to pursue a voluntary and responsible energy management policy not only for themselves, but also and above all for citizens and for companies;
• in order to instil a maximum sense of responsibility in citizens, companies (and in particular SMEs) and interest groups, they should be informed, made aware, and encouraged to take part and become involved, including in the decision making process;
• in order to work efficiently and avoid duplication it is essential that the various levels of public authority (central government, region, province, county, department, district, municipality, etc.) become involved and work in perfect synergy;
• in order to make rapid progress it is very important to exchange experience, in particular between regional and local authorities in different Member States in order to disseminate examples of best practice and the most efficient technologies as widely as possible,

2. hereby declare that the Energy Management Agency for which we are responsible has aims and a modus operandi that are compatible with the above considerations, namely:

• its principal aim is to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy sources;
• its area of operations corresponds to a subnational administrative and policy level;
• it has political support from the regional and/or local authority or authorities within its area of operations;
• its constitution confers upon it genuine autonomy in relation to existing bodies. In particular it has its own budget and administrative board;
• its administrative board includes representatives of a variety of players involved in energy management, and in particular local elected representatives and representatives of consumers and local companies;
• it has an operations team with at least two permanent members, together with the necessary logistical facilities (headquarters, premises, etc. ...) needed for its tasks and for maintaining its image as an impartial body in terms of energy options.
• its strategy is first and foremost directed towards energy demand from consumers, meaning households, public authorities and SMEs.
• its activities are diverse and concern, in particular, energy planning, consumer information and advice, assistance with setting up, funding, monitoring and evaluating energy management projects, and disseminating the results obtained.
• it has sufficient will and means for forging cooperation with other European agencies.

3. hereby decide to accede to this Charter, through which we commit ourselves:

• to ensuring that our Agency pursues its aims and modus operandi as described above.
• to becoming members of the "SAVE Agencies Network" and to enjoying the benefits deriving from that membership, such as the use of the logo developed by the Commission, to receiving information from it and to being associated with its various energy management activities on the same basis as the agencies that the Community has helped to create.

To find similar reports, click on a keyword below:
Regional Energy Agencies : Local Energy Agencies : DA - Dansk : DE - Deutsch : EL - Ellinika : ES - Español : FI - Suomi : FR - Français : IT - Italiano : NL - Nederlands : PT - Português : SAVE Agencies : SAVE II Programme 1998-2002 : SV - Svenska

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