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Background

As part of the support program for Norwegian municipalities Enova SF has prepared a guidebook on municipal climate and energy planning. The guidebook is meant to be a tool for municipalities that aim to establish their own local energy and climate plan.

Encouraging local and regional actors to increase their energy performance and their use of renewable energy is of high importance also at an international level. Enova is therefore delighted to share with actors outside Norway the knowledge and experiences from working with Norwegian municipalities and hopes that the guidebook can be a significant contribution to the implementation of local and regional action in Europe and elsewhere.

Introduction

Developing an energy and climate plan is only one of several processes that are necessary for a municipality to achieve its targets for energy efficiency, renewable energy and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. These targets should be both quantitative in nature, e.g. kWh saved and reduced CO₂ emissions, as well as qualitative, such as increased competence and awareness related to climate challenges.

The main processes are:

History: Many municipalities have already developed their plans, implemented specific measures, improved competence and achieved good results. Typically, these municipalities want to achieve even more! Other municipalities have ambitions but have not yet really got started.

Energy and climate planning: The energy and climate plan itself is really only the documentation of a publicly initiated process where all relevant sectors in the municipal administration and their stakeholders have been involved. An agreed distribution of roles, responsibilities, priorities and tasks is one important outcome of the process. The very fact that people work on the plan contributes positively to increasing knowledge at the local level. The plan should be adopted politically and become an integral part of the municipal planning hierarchy.

Implementation: This is by far the most important process, and typically where many municipalities fall short by not being able to take the process from plan to action. The plan must include a manageable action plan with agreed roles and responsibilities for the identified measures and activities. The easiest measures and activities should be implemented first, gradually increasing the complexity of the measures as competence and experience is built up. However, all new developments should be planned for a long term perspective where the intensity of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions become sustainable over time.