Lombardy - A concentrated effort on energy efficiency
Bilan territorial de l’action climat
2018
Association Climate Chance (Climate Chance)
Since 2015, the Climate Chance Association has been involved in the mobilization in the fight against climate change. It is the only international association that proposes to bring together on an equal footing all non-state actors recognized by the UN. In order to strengthen their action and to give credibility to the climate stabilization scenarios, the Climate Chance Association launched in 2018 a Global Observatory of Non-State Climate Action, which aims to explain the evolution of greenhouse gas emissions, by crossing national public policies, with sectoral dynamics, private actors’ strategies, local public policies and actions undertaken by local actors. In order to analyse the coherence of local public policies, Climat Chance proposes an assessment of « territorial mobilisations » through selected examples of cities and regions. Here, Lombardy.
With a 16% drop in GHG emissions in 2016 compared to 2005, Lombardy is approaching the targets announced in its regional programme for energy and the environment (PEAR), in line with the European objectives for 2020 and 2030. However, several external parameters must be taken into account to explain this decrease : the economic crisis of 2008, which led to a lasting drop in regional GDP, the deindustrialization of the region, and the drop in energy demand due to the rise in average regional temperatures. The region has also committed under the Under2 MoU to reduce total energy consumption by 10%, and to cover 15.5% of regional demand from renewable energy by 2020.
PLANNING FOCUSED ON THE GOAL OF REDUCING ENERGY CONSUMPTION
96 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has been allocated to energy efficiency in public buildings, 52% of which belong to class G (the most energy-intensive). They should make it possible to reduce energy consumption by between 1.7 and 2.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) out of a consumption of around 24 Mtoe, i.e. a reduction of between 7 and 11%. Of this amount, 63 million euros (M€) have been allocated in 2017. One third was dedicated to municipalities with less than 1,000 inhabitants, to finance 90% of their renovation projects. The remainder was dedicated to renovation projects over €1 million in near-zero energy buildings (NZEB), of which 30% of the expenditure is covered and 40% is financed by a 10-year low-interest loan. In its first monitoring report at the end of 2017, the regional council stated that it had financed 101 projects in small municipalities and 19 beneficiaries for 32 NZEB projects. The entire scheme is estimated to have covered 123,000 m2 The plan also addresses as a priority the issue of public lighting, which accounts for 60% of the regional government’s electricity consumption and 2-10% of that of private companies. 45 M€ are therefore dedicated to projects enabling the pooling of services using the electricity network, for example in terms of remote surveillance or telecommunications. At the end of 2017, applications for financing were still in the appraisal phase.
HELPING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ELECTRIC MOBILITY BY FINANCING RECHARGING STATIONS
Two separate initiatives to support electric mobility are foreseen by the PEAR and the regional transport planning document. The first, with a budget of EUR 1 million, has enabled the construction of 179 charging points for private individuals by the end of 2017. The second aims to develop the coverage of the territory in public charging points by means of a €20 million call for tenders aimed at municipalities with more than 30,000 inhabitants. According to the 2017 monitoring report, 688 charging points have been made available to the public thanks to this programme.
SUPPORT FOR RENEWABLE ENERGIES THROUGH THE STANDARD
With a renewable energy production of 16,330 GWh in 2016, the Lombardy region has already exceeded its previous target of covering 11.3% of its final demand with renewable energy before 2020. Under the Italian regulatory framework, support measures for renewable energy production are the responsibility of the State. The region’s role is limited to facilitating the administrative authorisation process. Under the PEAR the main measure consists in the pre-identification of areas suitable for the installation of renewable energy sources. This division of the territory saves time and reduces the risk incurred by developers of renewable projects.