Project „Sustainable energy and air quality management at local level”

The aim of this project is to address two key challenges Lithuanian municipalities are facing today in the field of municipal environment and energy policies – namely the preparation and implementation of municipal Renewable resources energy action plans (hereinafter – Plans) and Environment Air quality management programmes (hereinafter – programmes).

These commitments are rising from Europe 2020 strategy and national legislation , obliging all Lithuanian municipalities to prepare relevant Plans and Programmes. It is also noteworthy that Lithuanian national commitments surpass European ones, e.g. the commitment to have no less than 23 % of gross final energy consumption originating from Renewable Energy Sources (hereinafter RES) by 2020 compared to 20% foreseen in Europe 2020 strategy.

The implementation of those tasks is marred by the novelty of the requirements as well as by both lack of funding and lack of relevant field experience. Therefore the legal requirement to have such Plans and programmes if not-so-rarely ignored to some extent, or implemented formally; some municipalities are hiring costly experts or try to find their own solution employing a method of error and trial. Furthermore, lack of comprehensive supportive documents, regulating the drafting and revision of such documents, causes the situation, when especially in smaller municipalities’ administration, there might be only one civil servant, capable of explaining it thus making all implementation of certain legal act depending on the presence of particular person in the municipal service.

Taking into consideration the above-mentioned, the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania (hereinafter LSA) in cooperation with the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities and Employers’ Interests (hereinafter KS) plan to use the Norwegian financial mechanism a pre-defined project, aimed at the promotion of Lithuanian and Norwegian municipal experts’ and policy makers’ cooperation in the field of sustainable energy and environment quality, thus contributing to the solution of the key challenges Lithuanian municipalities are facing in these fields.

This project aims to assist Lithuanian municipalities in meeting European and national targets in certain fields of sustainable energy and environment through enhanced cooperation with the Norwegian colleagues. This grant will be used for the strengthening of the administrative capacities of Lithuanian municipal officials and municipal politicians in two priority areas: 1. environment (renewal of air quality monitoring and their implementation); and 2. sustainable energy policies (development/renewal of SEPs, promotion of local and renewable energy sources). The project foresees the preparation of pilot municipal Renewable resources energy action plans and Environment Air quality management programmes (three units of AQMP and 4 – of SEP) as well as methodologies for drafting and revising respective Plans and Programmes and organization of trainings for Lithuanian municipal civil servants in relevant fields, working with the issues of energy and environment.

Project manager

Ieva Andriulaitytė
Adviser on EU Issues,
Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania
T. Vrublevskio g. 6, 01043 Vilnius
Tel. (+370 5) 212 2958
Fax.  (+370 5) 261 5366
E-mail: ieva.andriulaitytе@lsa.lt