The overall aim of ENERGee Watch is to enable peer to peer learning for regional and local authorities in order to precisely define, monitor and verify their sustainable energy and climate actions. Its main target are associations and networks of cities and regions and the learning process will be focused on how different sustainable energy and climate mitigation projects have been monitored and evaluated. Primarily, we will build on existing platforms and needs assessment surveys to perform a needs assessment and gaps identification with public bodies for learning and match these needs with available best practices. Then, public authorities and their associations and agencies will be selected and matched with one of the seven mentors who are all partners of ENERGee Watch. The learning program will be divided into four modules that include: i) data collection, ii) monitoring and verification, iii) indicators for adaption to climate change, iv) data display, dissemination and validation by final users (local authorities). ENERGee Watch will launch 4 modules per year (one per each topic, twelve in total) with a total of 72 participating mentees, which are all associations or networks which can distribute the knowledge further to their members. The added value of ENERGee Watch is that the learning program is not limited to a capacity building process but instead enables networking and examples from practice shown on the field. In the first step of each cycle - the masterclass - each participant can choose the learning objectives they want to accomplish in order that their progress can be tracked, and thus transparent standards will be set. The learning program will ideally result in improved policies and MRV standards, as well as partnerships for innovative sustainable energy policies and MRV practices.

REMARKABLE will support local leaders to deliver a step change in progress towards carbon neutrality by 2050 in 7 regions across Europe. REMARKABLE will establish, by 2024, a network of 320 Current and Emerging Climate Leaders who, through their actions and inspiration, will drive their municipalities, public authorities, communities and regions to transform their approaches from ones focused on energy efficiency/renewables to ones focused on the strategic goal of climate neutrality by 2050. REMARKABLE will build new leadership capacity in 120 actors from 7 countries in Europe though a Climate Leadership Programme (CLP). The CLP will be inspired by ethnographic research and will be designed with and for leaders across public authorities. The REMARKABLE CLP will also facilitate the creation of 60 Roadmaps for public authorities aiming at Climate Neutrality by 2050. These Roadmaps will allow our Climate Leaders to translate strategic aspirations and policy ambitions into concrete and disruptive far reaching measures stimulating €300m investment by 2030. A Climate and Energy Check Tool will be developed and tested along with a Climate Neutrality Roadmap Guide. The 7 Regional Energy Agencies involved in REMARKABLE will develop 14 new services to expand their roles as change agents in the Clean Energy Transition and Climate Neutrality challenges. Climate Neutrality Training, Climate One Stop Shops, Financing Solutions are targeted as potential services. REMARKABLE will exploit its outcomes and results through the creation of an EU Climate Leaders Circle, reaching up to 320 members by 2024 including 30 from 7 Observer Regions/Countries. An innovative Climate Neutrality Challenge will be organised for Young Climate Leaders. The REMARKABLE Circle will create synergies with existing networks and initiatives e.g. COMO, ManagEnergy to support and enhance their impacts with the ambition of mobilising 10,000 stakeholders by 2030 (2,000 by 2024)

National and European energy savings in the building sector at small and medium-sized municipalities are not being met. Currently small and medium-sized municipalities in the region face significant challenges when meeting their energy savings goals due to the lack of technical and legal expertise hindering the use of advanced contracting schemes. Further challenges include scattered grants and lack of financial engineering at municipal level. BAPAURA aims to tackle these challenges by: • Supporting energy efficiency investments in 115 public buildings. • Developing advanced and centralised energy services dedicated to small and medium-sized municipalities focusing on project development assistance (legal, technical and financial). These services will support the deployment of energy performance guarantee contracts and facilitate the use of innovative financial instruments (e.g. white certificates). • Providing these services at department level through existing local energy support structures that will develop further “one-stop shop” services with the support of regional organisations. • Mobilising service providers and financial institutions at local level. • Introducing innovative financing by optimising the investment plan of municipalities, reviewing all financing options, adapting grants, harmonising subsidy request applications and mobilising white certificates. • Replicating the project results at regional, national and EU levels The main results that BAPAURA will trigger during the project’s lifetime are: • 23,627,000 € of total energy efficiency investments, with an average leverage factor of 16 • 7.8 GWh/year of primary energy savings • 1,437 t CO2 e/ year.

BiogasAction aim to serve as vehicle for the development of the European biogas sector and thereby contribute to the EU 2020 targets by focusing on removing non-technical barriers to widespread production of biogas/biomethane from manure and other waste. Central driver is the cooperation between different policy levels at EU, national and regional level. The project will boost biogas development in the target regions in conjunction with replication efforts & promotion at broad EU scale. BiogasAction key activity & expected impact: • A web portal containing EU-wide biogas market overview, technical biogas and biomethane information and experience of EU/national biogas projects, case studies and free on-line/off-line biogas tools • Biogas and biomethane intervention strategy plans in the 9 target regions • Replication of the project in 5 EU countries/regions • A guidance document for investors about financing biogas/biomethane project and reducing investment risk. • A guidance document for policy and decision makers and for local authorities/municipalities, to enable them to improve national framework conditions for biogas and biomethane deployment • Definition and support of a total of 50 high quality, sustainable biogas projects in the 9 target regions. • 3 peer learning European workshops focusing on key competence areas (80 participants), 1 European roundtable about advanced biogas applications, organisation of at least 1 national energy info day in each target region, with more than 100 participants/event • 3-4 events/training courses per target region for public administration aimed to improve the framework, including follow-up of the recommendations • 2-4 events/training courses per target region aimed to raise the public acceptance • A local training package incl. use of training material from previous projects • Series of 6-8 trainings in each of the 9 target regions on specific topics for biogas plant operators • Final event on project achievements

The main objective of Smart EPC project is to enable the transition of local public authorities towards smart sustainable cities of the future by utilizing existing energy efficiency services as a key for unlocking the potentials of new, emerging technologies and services. By creating advanced and smart concepts for modernization of public lighting in European cities, Smart EPC project will enable large-scale energy efficiency programs while strengthening know-how of regional/national key stakeholders. Smart EPC project aims to integrate several key directions of the European Green Deal and Next Generation EU instrument to draw in and engage industry in providing quality public service. Use of EPC model will help in bringing together stakeholders from public and private sector to collaborate on public projects, bringing in value for money and subsequently improving the quality of life. Refurbishment of old and inefficient street lighting units will lead to reducing energy and maintenance costs, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing emissions and light pollution. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, integration of IoT technology and Smart City components with the infrastructure refurbishment can pave the way for a wide range of energy and non-energy services and applications, including public safety, traffic management, smart parking, environmental monitoring, and extended Wi-Fi and next generation of cellular communications (e.g. 5G). To meet its ambitious goals, the project has three specific objectives: -to develop an advanced Smart EPC concept and standardised documentation for integration of energy and non-energy services in Energy Performance Contracting; -to demonstrate replication potential of Smart EPC concept and documentation by piloting reconstruction of public lighting; -to initiate capacity building, replication and strong facilitation service of Smart EPC concept and standardized documentation for triggering ESCO market on EU level.