In October, this was exemplified by presentations from two different local governments at the European Regions Week in a session emphasising the learnings and concrete outcomes from Schaerbeek (BE) and Ravenna (IT).
In Belgium, Schaerbeek, which was part of the first beneficiaries of the EUCF, has collaborated with 18 other communes in the Bruxelles Region developing an energy renovation facility, supported by the energy company Sibelga. Presenting their work at EUCF were Maria Giovanna Zamburlini from Schaerbeek and Guillaume Dewispelaere from Sibelga.
Currently, the RenoClick initiative has completed the energy audit of 56 buildings, with formal commitments in place for the financing of the renovation of 21 buildings, and the first 15 projects have already been initiated. By 2040, the very high ambition of the investment concept remains with the aim to invest over 1 billion euros in +300 buildings.
The city of Ravenna had applied for the EUCF to develop their investment concept aiming to take specific actions through their CUSTOM project to source funding from European and National funds, to realise projects on energy efficiency. To date, the Municipality has already secured more than 15 million euros for projects on energy efficiency in schools, the local theatre, and more.
Joining the EUCF session during the EU Regions week, Stefania Gambi from the Municipality of Ravenna highlighted the human resources support, which allowed Ravenna to thoroughly prioritise specific actions, lay forward the financial plan making it possible and to exploit opportunities.
The two presentations were complemented by the Coordinator of the European City Facility, Anke Möllers from Energy Cities, who shared that the European City Facility had received the first 150 fully developed Investment Concepts from Beneficiaries and those were now in the monitoring phase. She also mentioned that the next call for the European City Facility would open on 15 January.
Find the presentations from the session here.