Italian Provinces demonstrate ever-increasing commitment to Covenant of Mayors

The Covenant of Mayors massive success in Italy owes a lot to the active involvement of the country’s provinces, an ever greater number of which are joining the list of Covenant Coordinators. On June 22nd, a three-day event organised by the Union of Italian Provinces (UPI) brought together as many as 25 presidents of provinces, converging in Brussels to discuss the latest development of the initiative, including the recent calls for an extension of the Covenant concept to other themes such as waste and water management. During the meeting, which saw the participation of representatives from the European Investment Bank, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Covenant of Mayors Office, UPI-TECLA Europa, a Covenant of Mayors Supporter, presented the results of a survey conducted among the 43 provinces which have signed up as Covenant Coordinators. The vast majority of the institutions surveyed - around 85%- indicated providing financial and technical support to municipalities as well as carrying out promotional activities. According to the results of the survey, 17 of the responding provinces are also involved in Covenant-related projects, ten of which funded by IEE or ELENA. On the overall territory of the 43 provinces, 50 Sustainable Energy Action Plans have already been approved by the municipalities, 30 of which from the Province of La Spezia, where the administration played a particularly efficient role of coordination. More than 100 additional SEAPs are currently in the process of being adopted in the Province of Bergamo.

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