Energy efficiency

CONCERTO, the Europe wide initiative aiming at promoting sustainable energy in Europe gathered over 100 representatives together from its 28 local community projects to present their projects and achievements in making energy use more sustainable at local level, in Brussels on 3-5 July 2006.

 

Sarah Nilsson, project coordinator, sesac, explained Växjö - one of the Swedish communities - decided to stop using fossil fuels for its energy needs and Sweden did the same last year with the target of becoming independent from fossil fuels by 2020. Through CONCERTO the EU is taking steps in the same direction.

 

Project coordinator of act2, Reinhard Martinsen, said that Hannover aims to reduce the energy consumption for heating by up to 50% over the next 20 years, and we regard this as a contribution which European cities can make in order to meet EU energy target.

 

Rudy Rooth, from the ECOSTILER project stressed the common approach - of the local communities participating in the project - is biomass based energy production which is seen as a way for reaching a significant reduction in the demand for fossil fuel.

 

Marc Jedliczka, project coordinator, Lyon, which is part of the Renaissance project, declared that CONCERTO aims are accelerating the process of change on a large scale in Lyon and the mind set of all involved. Lyon is a reference point at the national level in France, he said.

 

Background information

 

CONCERTO is co-funded by the European Commission, in the context of European research and technological development. The essence is to help promote sustainable energy needs in Europe and at an affordable cost. The initiative supports 28 local communities in 9 project across Europe.

 

More information on the CONCERTO initiative