At the Covenant of Mayors conference,
held in Tbilisi in October 2010, the important role of cities as complex
systems having a large capacity to fight greenhouse gas emissions was
stressed. Municipalities have been
identified as a main driving force in guiding the development and
implementation of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) within EU energy
efficiency priorities.
On April 12, 2010 the Mayor of Tbilisi signed the Covenant of Mayors, and thus became the first city in the Caucasus to join an initiative under which Tbilisi should become a “low carbon city” by 2020: by signing the document the Tbilisi Municipality joins the EU 2010 in the common goal of reducing gas (CO2) emissions by 20% and implementing a steady energy supportive plan. To meet the set objectives, Tbilisi has taken the following responsibilities: to prepare a Green House Gas (GHG) inventory in the territory of Tbilisi City including baseline and reference scenarios and to develop the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). The main objective of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan for Tbilisi is to reduce CO2 emissions caused by city energy usage. The SEAP should include a Baseline CO2 emission inventory and a CO2 reduction target. The overall CO2 reduction target of the CoM Signatories is a 20% reduction by 2020 achieved through the implementation of the SEAP for those areas of activity relevant to the local authority's mandate.
The Sustainable Energy Action Plan for Tbilisi envisages:
- development of an overall strategy for the reduction of energy consumption in the capital
- development of a Baseline Emissions Inventory (BEI) for Tbilisi
- development of a sustainable energy action plan with selected energy efficiency measures for the period until 2020
- acknowledgement of the role of Tbilisi City Hall as the main administrative driving force in carrying out responsibilities addressing all activities related to energy consumption and use of renewable energy in transport, buildings and municipal infrastructure sectors that can’t be implemented without municipality support
- raising public awareness by promoting information about the application of energy saving measures.
The Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) quantifies the amount of CO2 emitted due to energy consumption in the territory of Tbilisi (Covenant Signatory) in the baseline period 2000-2009. The reference scenario assesses the GHG trends for the period 2010-2020. The Reference Scenario (RS) allows for the quantification of the overall CO2 reduction effort to be accomplished by signatories to meet their commitment under the Covenant of Mayors. The RS and subsequent Monitoring Emissions Inventories (MEI) allow for the identification of the principal anthropogenic sources of CO2 emissions and prioritization of the reduction measures accordingly.
Based on successful cooperation between the Tbilisi Municipality and NATELI under Component on Residential Energy Efficiency and by the request of the Tbilisi Municipality to USAID, the NATELI program was awarded additional funding by USAID for preparing a Baseline Emissions Inventory for the city and an assessment of the Green House Gas reference scenario for the years 2010-2020.
For the implementation of the above mentioned tasks, NATELI signed subcontract agreements with the NGO Sustainable Development Center REMISIA and the NGO Sustainable Development and Policy Centre (SDAP) in February 2011. The NGO Remisia has commenced work on the creation of a Baseline Emission Inventory for Tbilisi, including baseline and reference scenarios and the development of a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). The NGO Remisia was responsible for the Urban Mobility and Municipal Infrastructure sections of the SEAP.
The SDAP started work on the assessment of buildings in Tbilisi as a part of the Sustainability Energy Action Plan (SEAP). The creation of the Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) for buildings should quantify energy flows and the amount of CO2 emitted due to energy consumption in the Municipal as well as residential buildings of Tbilisi in the baseline year. This will thereby serve as the reference against which the reduction targets and the actual achievements as well as related emission reductions shall be monitored and compared.
Considering the urgency of the municipality obligation on the submission of the SEAP to the European Union Covenant of Mayors office, both subcontractors were given the tightest of deadlines for completing the initial part of the work. In mid March SDAP delivered the draft final report to NATELI for the SEAP Building sector, which includes a Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI). The NGO Sustainable Development Center REMISIA submitted a final draft report on the SEAP Urban Mobility section including the Baseline Emission Inventory for the transport sector and Street Lighting as well as the Municipal Infrastructure, including landfills, waste water management, and green spaces to NATELI in the third week of March.
According to the agreement between the Tbilisi Municipality and USAID/NATELI, NATELI completed work on the creation of the three largest sections of the SEAP. NATELI, SDAP, and REMISIA have finalized the interim report of the Tbilisi Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) including the Baseline Emission Inventory. The report was uploaded to the Covenant of Mayors site on March 30th. The deadline assumed by the City Municipality was met with the help of NATELI.
From April, 2011, the SDAP and the REMISIA have continued work on improvement of data included in SEAP and have finalized sections on the Building sector, Urban Mobility and the transport sector and Street Lighting as well as the Municipal Infrastructure, including landfills, waste water management, and green spaces. Each section along with the information for SEAP includes relevant the Baseline Emission Inventory.
SEAP according to the guidelines the SEAP has to have a support structure for SEAP implementation as well as a section on Public Awareness. Until now NATELI scope did not envisage these two sections and they are not completed.
NATELI through its subcontractor REMISIA has prepared a methodology for SEAP development for the cities of Eastern Partnership and cities of the countries that are not included in Annex 1 of the Kyoto Protocol, i.e. the counties that do not have obligation of CO2 reduction. The Methodology for Developing Model and Busines as Usual (BAU) Scenario for Tbilisi City in Long range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP) was also submitted to CoM office of Brussels. This gives unique chance for Tbilisi to serve as a model city in the region.
In case, the actions proposed in the SEAP are implemented, the overall CO2 emissions in Tbilisi will be reduced 25% by 2020. In addition, the number of natural sources of CO2 emission absorption, such as forest areas surrounding the capital as well as parks within the city, will grow and develop. In conjunction to the Covenant of Mayors, Tbilisi City Hall aspires to make Tbilisi the “Green Capital” of the South Caucasus.