ManagEnergy Workshop Budapest, Hungary
22 March 2011
Sustainable energy & the Covenant of Mayors in our cities
46 participants - including representatives from 27 municipalities - attended the fruitful one day workshop. The workshop was conducted in both Hungarian and English, with simultaneous translations.
The key objectives of the workshop were to:
- Show local authorities interested in local sustainable energy use the clear opportunities and benefits the Covenant of Mayors initiative represents for them. Furthermore, it set out to prove that it is advantageous to implement this initiative within the national conditions.
- Build the capacities of participating cities to allocate sufficient human resources, to develop and implement local Sustainable Energy Action Plans, to involve local stakeholders and citizens and make use of the experiences of Covenant signatories.
- Find solutions for the smooth implementation of the Covenant initiative within the national and regional context in Hungary – inform potential “supporters” about the initiative and encourage them to become “Covenant Supporting Structures”. Establish a foundation for permanent networking among cities and their partners.
Representatives of local authorities (e.g. Budapest, Veszprem, Tata – 3 out of the 4 current signatories of the Covenant were present as well as many others), energy agencies (ENEREA - a regional energy agency), ministries (Ministry of Development), as well as consultancy and private companies participated in the workshop. ENEREA and its regional authority (North-East Hungary) are potential future Covenant Supporting Structures in Hungary and expressed their interest in cooperating with the initiative.
Participants were given a series of concrete examples on the different steps required to effectively meet the Covenant commitments and particularly appreciated the logical structure of the whole process. The adaptation phase for example, with the creation of adequate administrative structures and the allocation of human resources – such as the so-called “Covenant Coordinators” – paves the way for an accurate development of Baseline Emissions Inventories (BEI) and Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAP), in cooperation with local actors and citizens.
The experience of local municipalities (Tata) and the regional energy agency (ENEREA) encouraged other local authorities to deal strategically with energy issues in their municipalities and, as a next step, join the Covenant.
Feedback from participants
Excellent organisation and moderation of the workshop!
Congratulations on a well organised event, we have received lots of information. Next time even more examples from small cities and rural areas would be appreciated - their awareness is very low.
We are very interested in receiving further information.
Workshop Programme
Workshop Presentations
Full morning session in Hungarian (.pdf, 8.5MB) covering:
- A házigazda köszöntője
Dr. György István, Városüzemeltetésért felelős Főpolgármester-helyettes, Budapest Főváros
Welcome by the host
Dr. István György, Dept. Mayor on behalf of Mr. István Tarlós, Mayor of capital City Budapest
- A magyar energia- és klímapolitika településeket érintõ kérdései
Olajos Péter, klíma- és energiaügyi helyettes államtitkár, NFM
Hungarian energy and climate policy
Mr. Péter Olajos, Dept. Secretary of State for Energy
- Fenntartható települési energiagazdálkodás és a Covenant of Mayors
Pedro Ballesteros Torres, Európai Bizottság, Energetikai Fõigazgatóság
Dely Krisztina, Energy Cities, a Covenant of Mayors Iroda igazgatója
Local sustainable energy management and the Covenant of Mayors
Pedro Ballesteros Torres, EU Commission DG Energy
Ms. Krisztina Dely, Energy Cities
- 1. szekció: A Polgármesterek Szövetsége Magyarországon
Moderátor: Mezei Károly, elnök, ETE-Települési Energiagazdálkodási Szakosztály
Part 1: Implementation of the Covenant of Mayors in Hungarian cities
Moderator: Mr. Károly Mezei, ETE-TESZ
- Peter Schilken, Energy Cities – Gyakorlati elvárások és technikai segítségnyújtás a Szövetség számára
Mr. Peter Schilken, Energy Cities – Technical requirements and support for the Covenant
- Mürkl Levente, Tata Város Polgármesteri Hivatala – A Covenant bevezetése Tatán
Mr. Levente Mürkl, Municipality of Tata, Hungary – Actions of Tata as Covenant signatory
Full afternon session in Hungarian (.pdf 7.5MB) covering:
- 2. szekció: A Polgármesterek Szövetsége bevezetésének eszközei
Moderátor: Dely Krisztina, Energy Cities, a Covenant of Mayors Iroda igazgatója
Part 2: Implementation of the Covenant of Mayors in Hungarian cities
Moderator: Krisztina Dely, Energy Cities
- Paul Fay, Frankfurt, Németország – A Covenant bevezetésére Frankfurtban - lépések, erőforrások
Mr. Paul Fay, City of Frankfurt, Germany – Actions and resources committed by Frankfurt
- Huba Bence, NFÜ – Az Új Széchenyi Terv és más pénzügyi erőforrások
Mr. Bence Huba, NFÜ – The New Széchenyi Plan and other funding available for signatories
- Vámosi Gábor, ENEREA – A Szövetség tagjainak támogatása regionális szinten, az energiaügynökségek szerepe
Mr. Gábor Vámosi, ENEREA – Regional support and energy agencies for Signatories
- Bozsó Brigitta, ENERGIAKLUB Szakpolitikai Intézet és Módszertani Központ – Az energiastratégia tervezése a helyi érintettek bevonásával
Ms. Brigitta Bozsó, Energiaklub, Hungary – Tools for better engagement of local actors
- Csikai Mária, ENERGIAKLUB Szakpolitikai Intézet és Módszertani Központ – Uniós pályázati lehetőségek önkormányzatok számára
Ms. Maria Csikai, Energiaklub, Hungary – Financing for municipalities in the EU budget
Workshop Photos
The prestigious municipal council hall of Budapest - where the city council votes on local legislations
 Introduction by Mr. István György - Deputy Mayor of Budapest Capital |  Introduction by Mr Péter Olajos - Secretary of State, Ministry for Development |
 Peter Schilken - Energy Cities |  Paul Fay - Energy Manager of the City of Frankfurt |
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| Presenting the Covenant of Mayors by Pedro Ballesteros Torres - EC DG ENER | Discussions with the participants |
