EUKI Community
Meeting of project implementers and partners selected in the 4th EUKI Call for project ideas
20.01.2021, European Climate Initiative in a nutshell: this format of online event targeted at EUKI project implementers and partners selected in the fourth EUKI Call for project ideas or recently chosen in the BMU call for tenders. In addition, BMU representatives and the EUKI Secretariat participated. Steinbeis is project partner in one of the new EUKI projects, in EDAPHIC-BLOOM. Therefore Roxana Boboruta, project manager of German Steinbeis Danube Center as well as of Steinbeis Romania, attended the event together with another 138 participants.
In a nutshell: EUKI is a financial instrument issed by the German Federal Ministry of Enivronment (BMU). It was in established in 2017 with the purpose to support an inner-European dialogue, exchange of good practices and creating networks of climate pioneers.
Target groups: civil society, governments, business and consumers
Target Area: Central, Eastern and Southern Europe + Baltic States
Important facts:
Event was moderated by Anna Chmielecka from GIZ – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH. In his opening speech GIZ general director, Mr. Stefan Bundscherer, presented relevant facts:
- 50 Mio. EUR from German Ministry of Environment were available for this round of projects
- Official membership in the EUKI community for all project partners is a fact.
Within keynote speeches, Mrs. Sarah Heft from German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Coonservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) pointed out that
- by 2050 EU wants to become first climate neutral industrialized party of the Paris agreement
- by 2030 at least 55% EU-wide reduction of emissions is expected compared to 1990
- by 2022 focus will be on hard work on implementation, legislative proposals for all climate and energy policy instruments.
It is recommendation to respect and combine those long-term milestones when preparing projects for funding by European Climate Initiative. In new EU funding period, 2021 – 2027, 30% of all EU ffunds needs to be spent on climate action,. This means almost 50 billion EUR will be available for climate actions.
How to do this? From isolated investments projects to a holistic approach towards climate neutrality is a challenge. Currently funded projects can be seen as models.
Our EUKI project:
EDAPHIC-BLOOM DANUBE targets a wide range of stakeholders in the Lower Danube Floodplain and Danube Delta that will be empowered to contribute towards GHG reduction through decision support tools for sustainable land use management and for reaching energy targets and gain additional co-benefits in this process. By the end of the project, authorities in the target area will have been empowered to make decision related to land use, to develop and implement future renovation projects as part of future energy efficiency action plans on a mission to become carbon neutral, relevant professionals will have significantly increased their competence in shaping the built environment according to nearly zero energy buildings criteria and civil society and stakeholders will have increased their role in the sustainable development process.
Project aims to boost capacities for Greenhouse Gases (GHG) mitigation in the target region (Danube Delta), through organic soils conservation/restoration and enhancing energy efficiency in the built environment sector. The emissions from organic soils are among the largest GHG sources from the agriculture and LULUCF sector and, yet, these areas of land in the Lower Danube Flood-plain and Danube Delta are increasingly reduced with repercussions on the Carbon balance and climate change. As a consequence, the consortium aims to create a map of soil types in the area and to (subsequently) investigate biomass and plant productivity in their contribution to organic soil formation and carbon sequestration. As a result, a Master Plan for GHG reduction in the Lower Danube Floodplain and Danube Delta will be developed, with realistic land use scenarios for restoration of organic soils in the area.
Steinbeis is represented in the project EDAPHIC BLOOM by German Steinbeis Danube Center, the non-profit unit in the group of Steinbeis enterprises, managed by Jurgen Raizner.
Kick-off meeting took place in December 2020.
Other project ideas which are finaced in this round by EUKI:
- EmpowerClimate – training program for climate change. Aim is to support municipalities (Czech Republic, Slovakia) for renewable energy issues, best practices from Germany. Partners come from Czech Republic and Slovakia also.
- Green Rurul Deal – Kosovo village is to supposed to benefit from energy effciency training.
- Forests for Future – Slovenia Forest Service (SFS) seeks to optimising forest carbon sinks through adapted forest management;
- ClimaArchiNet –project ideas aim that architects design pro-climate innovations for buildings. They have to take into account from design to demolition. To build constructions into the right way;
- Climate Heroes – WWF DanubeCharpatian Bulgaria and partners from Romania & Serbia aim to create awareness on youth leaders of highschool and university. They will benefit from mentorship and training for climate change issues.
- Sustainaware – Youth from Slovenia and Hunagry will receive eduaction about climate mitigation through non-formal approaches: competence model for non-formal education, develop Ecological footprint calculator, etc.
- Together for Sustainable Schools – partner from Lituania, Cyprus and Germany developed a consortium aimed to deliver trainings for teachers and pupils, youth led initiatives, students – agents of change, youth ambassadors in the field of climate change issues.
- Exhange Group – A just transition in the European Car Industry – 7 partners from 5 countries reunite to combine different competences for car industry. Stimluate dialogue between stakeholders on how to manage industry change challenges (transition to electric cars, car sharing, etc)
- Clikis Network – Estonia and Croatia partners aims to promite climate friendly kitchen in schools. Initiative tackle choice of ingredients, equipments, user behaviour, etc.. Result shpild be: adaptation of KEEKS materials and methodology, implementation in kitchens, creating EU network for this.
- Low-Carbon Investment Budapest – Municipality of Budapest aimes at breaking barriers to low-carbon investment. Project foster solar potential in Budapest and improvement at electricity network.
- Passenger Transport project aims to apply best practices from EU countries in the EUKI field. Development of a more comprehensive transport policy framwork resulting in more mobility options and lower emissions. It analyze 10 different models of transport, including from Romania.
- EDINA – Energy-efficient development of special revitalisation zones and urban areas aims to develop a toolkit for energy efficiency calculator. Within project 120 municipality practioners will be trained.
- CACTUS – Partners from France, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania will be working for a more effective national mitigation strategies through increased consideration for energy efficiency thus national scenario builders will be included.
- Heritage buildings – Croatia project coordinator working with Polish partner for energy efficiency in public buildings such as Ewwlina Pekala and Aleksandar Jelovac, Sendzimir Foundation
- Alpe – Adria Clean Transport Alliance – Partners from Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro; transport decarbonnization actions; toolbox tailor made for local stakeholders, education to help local stakeholders, 10 new local plans drafted
- Children Stand Up! – Partners from Albania and Italy propose to increase awareness about GHC emissions. As a practical part, 3 schools in Italy and 4 schools in Albania are to implement concrete eco-actions;
- Cross-border coorpeation capacity building in energy efficiency: Partner from Latvia, Germany, Poland local municipalities are partering for promoting green schools: capacity building & increased energy efficiency (though an Energy Management Plan), capacity building (through worksops, trainings, conferences) are envisaged;
- Climate Action Zlatibor – Regional Agency North from Serbia and partner from Croatia are promoting green public procurement expertise. Compence center for energy efficiency Zlatibor is envisaged. Moreover 20 climate actions and pilot projects should result from current initiative;
- REFE – Reducing the Ecological Footprint through Eco-awareness: 20 young people from 12 to 20 aged (10 from Iasi and 10 from Bucharest; Romania) are to be trained in sustainable lifestyle and ecological thinking. Awareness campaign is also envisaged;
- Energy Efficiency Network – Czech and German parters aim to build a network of energy consultants, to promote knowledge from Bavaria and, mainly, to translate into Czech legislative environment.
- BIO Screen CEE – aims to advance evidence based knowledge and policy implementation in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary for prevenning an increase in the demand and dependecy on forestry biomass.. Analyizing forestry biomass to energy and climate plans and legislation to bridge data deficiencies are prioritary;
- BIOGAS Initiative – Serbia (Novi Sad) and Germany (through Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculturre) have lauched with the support of EUKI an initiative on small biogass facilities for manure to attain GHG mitigation in agriculture;
- GreenTecLab – aims at creating a green entreprenurial eco-system for green entrepreneurship and social recovery. Partners from Germany an Spain will organize bootcamps in 4 regions of Europe, will choose a jury and consultants involved will coach initiator of these projects;
- Climate Journalism – aims to promote international exchange on climate issues between journalists, give a deeper and more detailed insight in to the field, pursue a transnational research on a commoin relevant topic; promote EUKI fellowships;
- EUCENA – European Citizen Energy Academy 2.0: Partners from Germany, Greece, Albania support diversification of energy efficiency study fields based gender issues.
- Solar ADRIA – aims at accelerating solar energy deployment in coastal municipalities of the Adriatic region. Mapping stakeholder views, solar potential maps of urban areas, facilitation of investments in solar technologies, capacity building are in the project plan.
- Sustainable finance and consumer protection in Greece and Czech Republic: project aims at integration of sustainability into financial advice in Czech and Greece and improve capacity of product distributors, consumers, authorities and stakehlder into susrainable finance.
- CLI – MA: from housing manager to CLIMate Manager: Germany, Latvia, Poland partners tackle renovation of multifamily buildings in Eastern Europe based on German best practice; increasing awareness of housing managers and improve the use of existing and future instrumenets to support the deep modernization
- BSR – Lab for Just Transition in Polish and German Coal regions: Partners from Germany and Poland aim to prepare regional citizens from these areas through trainings about what to do and how to approach the governments, how to change their lives after mines close.
- EU Climate Action Dialogues: Conference on the Future of Europe aims at enaging citizens (through e.g. citizen assemblies, town halls – Climate Pact which starts in 2021). Network of think thanks from 8 Member states and answer political questions is envisaged;
- CLIMATE RECON 2050: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Estonia and Romania aim to develop a platform for dialogue and exchange of experience for the use of national policy makers to support long-term climate planning and implementation strategies;
- CONGREGATE tackles consumer engagement in building renovation and renewable energy cooperatives for grassroot climate action (2 different proposls combined). Main goal of the project is to support the implementation of buildings rennovation programs (mainly in Bulgaria, Romania); throught the project, in Poland, 6 energy cooperatives will be supported by Polish Ministry.