NATIONAL ENERGY FOUNDATION

CARBON DISCLOSURE PROJECT

Organisation type

CDP is a not-for-profit charity

Purpose

CDP runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Over the past 15 years it has created a system that has resulted in unparalleled engagement on environmental issues worldwide.

Aspects of sustainability addressed

Rural energy issues

Indicators used

Advises that complex tools are not required and qualitative assessment is the first step.

Measurements applied

• Focus is on action and engagement and, through the network of communities, moral, technical and financial support.

• Data focuses on what type of energy consumed, and how it is generated.

• Qualitative analysis is SWOT.

• Energy consumption applied uses regional data in MWh, and generation of energy in MWh of electricity or heat.

Data Requirements

Regional level data on energy consumption and energy generation.

Data collection

Input-output tables/ regional statistics

Data level

Regional

Cost to access method and resources

Access to method

Open access. Funding from EU of 75% of €1,077,254

Challenges

• Many communities are small and may not have internal resources e.g. technical expertise.

• Even very committed communities will need external influences to make sure things keep moving.

• Communities expressed a need for financial aid for investment when activities and strategy are ready.

• Also expressed was the need for continuous technical support e.g. to build the action plan, build social media presence.

• Communities don’t know what to expect from twinning as they often do not have the funds to visit their twinned community.

• There is a necessity for rural communities to be represented at EU level. They need visibility for the concrete actions carried out so that they can be supported by Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and Rational Use of Energy (RUE) investments.

• The difficulty and time needed to reach rural places has made it impossible to have EU representatives come at RURENER meetings. RURENER, therefore has to go to Brussels, and will have to continue with this arrangement into the future.

• The development of RURENER may result in the a change to its model in the coming years

How the method can help communities

The main benefits for local communities are:

• Support to build local action plan for energy neutrality

• Experience sharing and pooling of resources and tools :Knowledge Bank with answers from experts, sharing experience between pairs during project meetings

• Access to roadmap : advices, tools and best practices for the 6 steps leading to energy neutrality (on line and paper version)

• Support and participation in/organization of national and regional exhibitions /conferences or seminars and local energy days, organized in every country during the project lifetime;

• Presentation of communities’ activities on the project website in English and in its national language and on the community weblog;

• Opportunities to establish twinning, inside the RURENER NETWORK with other communities from different countries.

• Identification of RURENER Network at European level, creation of a legal entity able to represent small rural communities

Lessons learned

• Specificities about SEAP in small rural communities To start an action within a community, complex tools are not needed & can even be frightening. The 1st step is to make a qualitative assessment of territorial resources, including the people's desire to carry out actions. The RURENER tools fulfil these requirements and the network provides examples & "moral support" to give a new community the will to start. However, stakeholders need an idea of the energy amounts spent & a technical guidance.

• Project time is not field time. In rural areas, decision makers deal with a wide number of issues. Although they are committed to energy issues, they need someone to keep them on track. Even more when working with a participatory approach, it needs time to make sure that the activities are well integrated and that local stakeholders are actually empowered. Energy neutrality in rural areas can be turned into an integrated approach of sustainable development rather than an energetic-only approach.

• EU meetings: a powerful tool to challenge mayors & overcome the language barrier. There's no substitute for face-to-face networking and collaboration, in particular to overcome language barriers. Here grew up a real European spirit and very much awareness of the potential of green energy at local and European levels. Later, ICT tools were developed to support collaborative work; they are used as a result of continuous training, awareness and specific target groups’ involvement.