Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP) of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy
Updated on 05.10.2022
Covenant of Mayors signatories commit to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increase resilience against climate change impacts, and tackle energy poverty to ensure a just transition. Signatory cities pledge to the EU 55 % GHG reduction by 2030 and to adopt a joint approach to adapt to climate change, outlining methods in a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP).
More information
SECAPs outline the key actions that the Covenant signatory countries must take to translate their political commitments into practical measures and projects to tackle climate change towards a just transition. The plan must feature a Baseline Emission Inventory – to track the mitigation actions taken – and a Climate Risks and Vulnerability Assessment. The adaptation strategy represents a long-term commitment to implement the plans, with progress update reports every two years, and can be part of the SECAP or delivered as a separate document. The latest list of signatories and their action plans can be found on the source web page.
Territories involved :
The latest list of signatories and their Action Plans can be found here.
Interoperability with Circular Systemic Solutions and Circular Economy Action Plans
SECAPs concern action at both a local and regional level within the competence of the local authority. The plans concentrate on measures aimed at reducing GHG emissions (such as carbon dioxide) and the final energy consumption by the end users. It also includes adaptation actions in response to the impacts of climate change. The SECAPs should cover areas where local authorities can influence energy consumption in the long term (for example land use planning), encourage markets for energy efficient products and services (public procurement), and encourage changes in consumption patterns (by working with stakeholders and citizens). All these areas lie at the intersection of energy and circular economy. The industrial sector is not a key target of the Covenant of Mayors, so the local authority can choose whether to include actions in this sector or not.
Example templates/guidelines
CO2 neutrality/decarbonisation
large 500 000-200 000, medium 200 000-50 000, and small cities 50 000-5 000
predominantly urban regions, intermediate and predominantly rural regions, refer to TERCET typology NUTS 3 region
