The ClimAct CEE project, co-financed by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) Programme with a 2-year implementation period, had as its main goal to demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating climate and energy policies by setting up decarbonised urban areas in cities in Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania, while also aiming at reducing air pollution. The project proposed a climate radiography framework inspired by the methodology of the Covenant of Mayors on Climate and Energy used for the elaboration of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SEEDCAPs), to strengthen energy, climate and air quality policies at local level – a key element in the process of transforming urban neighbourhoods into sustainable areas in Central and Eastern Europe. The project aimed to replicate this approach in other European cities as a model to support their sustainable development and increase the quality of life for their inhabitants. The Alba Local Energy Agency – ALEA was the national partner in this project.

The main results of the project include:

• Proposal for an innovative screening methodology – Unlike the LEZ (Low Emission Zone) concept – whose main objective is to reduce air pollution from transport, the DLEZ (Decarbonised Low Emission Zone) concept also includes the decarbonisation objective, which involves the buildings and other urban facilities sector in the main municipal sectors. Thus a DLEZ will have both cleaner air and reduced or near-zero CO2 emissions by offsetting the energy consumed within its boundary with green energy produced from renewable sources over the course of a year. The ClimAct CEE project provides a replicable methodology, demonstrating the benefits of a multi-sectoral approach and highlighting the potential for wider application at municipal level.
• Definition of the ELDELs and inventories of CO2 emissions and other pollutants from energy use in buildings and transport to support the municipality’s previously agreed 2030 and 2050 decarbonisation targets

The DLEZ area selected in the municipality of Alba Iulia of about 55 thousand square metres contains the group of buildings in the area of the Dorin Pavel Technological High School and the Anghel Saligny block of flats, with the focus on continuing the energy efficiency works on municipal buildings and increasing the volume of green energy in them by installing new RES systems. The chosen area is a demonstration area showing that the methodology used here can be applied by any other municipality in Romania. To this end, the cooperation of local actors is crucial and the establishment of a working group is necessary to set the contours of the DLEZ and to coordinate the implementation of decarbonisation and air quality policies and measures.

Within the project, ALEA evaluated, based on the screening methodology, the inventory of energy consumption and production in the DLEZ area established in Alba Iulia Municipality. A tool for quantitative assessment of transport sector emissions (nitrogen oxides and particulate matter) for the DLEZ level was developed by ALEA, using data from traffic flows on the DN1, lengths of public transport lines crossing the DLEZ and other indicators.

DLEZ “Dorin Pavel” area in Alba Iulia

In order to achieve the 2030 targets for the DLEZ “Dorin Pavel” in Alba Iulia, a set of multisectoral decarbonisation measures harmonised with the PAEDC Alba Iulia has been proposed, which includes increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, increasing by 50% the installed capacity of photovoltaic panels in municipal buildings, measures aimed at reducing emissions of pollutants from traffic and additional measures with an impact on improving air quality.

The objectives for DLEZ “Dorin Pavel” in Alba Iulia for 2030 are:

• Replicating DLEZ – decarbonised low-emission urban areas

The extension of the DLEZ proposed in Alba Iulia as part of the ClimAct CEE project to other areas of Alba Iulia and even to other municipalities in the region is possible by using the same methodological approach which is a territorially fragmented version of a Reference Emission Inventory and a vision/implementation component inspired by the PAEDC (Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan) methodology. So far, the DLEZ concept and its implementation methodology have been presented for replication in Tulcea and Târgu Mureș.

Webinar ClimAct CEE: Implement decarbonised and low-emission urban areas to fight climate change at municipal level – November 5 2024

More details about the project and its implementation can be found here or at [email protected].