For years, the Raciechowice municipality has set an example of its commitment to environmental protection and the fight against climate change. It has enjoyed the status of an ecological municipality since 1997, as evidenced by its long-standing and consistent efforts to promote sustainable development. Implementing initiatives to increase energy efficiency, as well as to reduce energy consumption and related emissions, the municipality continuously implements the provisions of the adopted strategic documents. In addition, since 1999. Raciechowice municipality is an active member of the Association of Municipalities Polish Network "Energie Cités" (PNEC), with which it participates in numerous international projects. Currently, the municipality participates in two projects: OwnYourSECAP and CommitClimate, both of which are financed by European funds.
The development of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAP), as well as their integration with energy management systems, are the main objectives of the activities of the OwnYourSECAP project (Supporting regional and local governments in the development and implementation of the SECAP plan). The project will assist local governments in the energy transition process by providing a systematic approach to developing, implementing and monitoring SECAP plans. It will also help institutionalize energy and climate planning in eight Polish municipalities, among others, by establishing clear governance structures, strengthening political commitment, and introducing a holistic approach to planning and cross-sectoral integration, including climate protection and adaptation tasks. Raciechowice participates in this project as an experienced municipality that can share its knowledge with replicator municipalities, but also learn from pioneer municipalities from various project partner countries.
Aiming to achieve increasingly ambitious goals, the Raciechowice Municipality developed and adopted the SECAP plan at the end of March 2024, where it adopted as an interim goal for 2030 the achievement of a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions from its territory by 2030 compared to the 1996 base year. The SECAP plan not only focuses on reducing emissions, but also takes into account climate change adaptation and the fight against energy poverty. In addition, it contributes to improving air quality, increasing energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energy sources in the municipality. As a result, the plan makes a solid case for both international action and local initiatives, creating an integrated approach to sustainable development. The development of the SECAP plan is also a result of the Raciechowice Municipality's accession to the New Integrated Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, one of the European Commission's important initiatives under the EU's climate change adaptation strategy. The Covenant of Mayors engages both local authorities and citizens to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, meeting EU targets in this regard.
Signatories of the Covenant of Mayors pledge to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality in 2050. Representatives of Raciechowice, through participation in the project, participated in international workshops in Vienna and Prague, as well as in numerous national workshops and thematic webinars.
Another ongoing project in Raciechowice is the CommitClimate. Its goal is to support cities and municipalities in setting strategic directions for improving energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewable energy sources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and mobilizing local stakeholders, by building relevant energy and environmental competencies of public administration employees. The project is intended to help European cities and municipalities involved in climate action by developing a computer simulation model for calculating carbon footprints and modeling future scenarios (the so-called CommitClimate simulator). The simulator will make it possible to calculate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, understand what they result from, and develop and analyze various possible scenarios for reducing emissions in the future, taking into account various indicators. Local government representatives will be able to test the simulator and use it when developing local energy plans and strategies (e.g. SECAP) to help them achieve climate neutrality. Involvement in the project enabled municipal representatives to, among other things, participate in meetings held in Riga and Tallinn, as well as in a national workshop organized in Krakow on energy community development.
Through these initiatives, the Raciechowice Municipality provides inspiration to other communities by demonstrating how local actions can respond to global challenges.
We encourage you to visit the projects' websites and familiarize yourself with the materials available there and follow the implementation of further activities: http://ownyoursecap.pnec.org.pl/ and https://interreg-baltic.eu/project/commitclimate/.
The OwnYourSECAP project has received funding from the European Union under the LIFE+ Environment and Climate Financial Instrument under grant agreement no. 101077109
The CommitClimate project is co-financed by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region program. The sole responsibility for the content of this article lies with the authors and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.
