Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy
Updated on 27.01.2026
The EU Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy is an initiative of the European Commission. In the past 16 years, the EU Covenant has mobilised over 10,700 cities and towns across the EU: large, medium- and small-size, representing over 220 million inhabitants.
By joining the initiative, local authorities voluntarily commit to implementing EU climate and energy objectives. The Covenant promotes and mobilises integrated planning at the local level across three pillars, aligned with the EU-wide targets and policies:
- Reducing GHG emissions by 55% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050
- Strengthening climate resilience
- Alleviating energy poverty
These municipalities have developed and implemented Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs), which include an assessment of emissions and vulnerabilities and a coherent set of actions to reduce emissions, adapt to climate change, and fight energy poverty. The plans are being monitored periodically.
Activities on circular economy
While circular economy is not directly addressed by the initiative, cities' planning climate and energy actions to address mitigation, adaptation and energy poverty do relate to circularity, particularly when an integrated approach is applied.
Countries
As of November 2025, the EU Covenant of Mayors has mobilised over 11,600 local authorities in Europe (10,700 in the EU), covering 280 million citizens (220 million in the EU).
Over 400 national entities – Covenant Coordinators and Supporters – support Covenant signatories.
See statistics for the EU and Europe, including Country profiles, in this interactive map: https://eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/en/key_figures
Key services provided for the circular economy
The EU Covenant is an initiative that mobilises municipalities to commit to plan and acting on energy and climate change impacts in integrated way, including with circular economy solutions. In parallel, it serves these municipalities to channel available support and opportunities and showcase their practice, including with respect to circular economy.
List of relevant material
- CoM-munity Stories: stories across the three pillars of the Covenant (mitigation, adaptation and energy poverty) and a dozen of thematic areas
- Insights per topic with relevant resources on:
- Adaptation
- Energy poverty
- Earth observation
- Sustainable mobility
- Multi-level governance
- Opportunities: collection of open calls for input, opportunities for funding and technical assistance
- Covenant’s Thematic campaigns:
- The Cities Heat Detox on decarbonising the heating sector
- Cities Refresh on extreme heat
- Key figures: statistics and country pages
Description of future collaboration with CCRI-CSO
- Covenant office can include open calls in the Opportunities space and disseminate, as appropriate
- Identify relevant materials to be shared with the CoM-munity as support to their planning/action on climate and energy
- Mutual tagging of engaged cities in CoM/CCRI
