Ecologic Institute led a study examining how regional and local authorities contribute to the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy by transforming their energy systems. The report, which was commissioned by the Committee of Regions, aims to propose a set of recommendations for future improvements of the program. The study is available for download.

On the basis of eight case studies, the report investigates experiences and best practices of cities and regions, which committed themselves to ambitious mitigation targets and to developing a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) towards the Covenant of Mayors (CoM). The study thus aims to integrate these programs into the Committee’s contribution to the Europe 2020 strategy and its subsequent implementation.

Consequently, it contains a detailed analysis of constraints facing the cities and regions during development, implementation, and the process of monitoring of their SEAPs. Based on the results of this analysis, the report provides proposals on how to reduce these challenges. It particularly focuses on the high potential of multilevel governance, which facilitates the contribution of local and regional authorities to the achievement of Europe 2020 objectives.