SUDEP South presents its results on COP22

 

SUDEP South Support Mechanism has presented its latest developments of the project during the Marrakech Climate Change Conference in Marrakech. On November 15^th, SUDEP South SM participated in the side event “The European Union in action: implementing the Paris Agreement in the Southern Mediterranean” which was opened by Michael Köhler, Director Neighborhood South, at the European Commission (DG NEAR) and Jorge Borrego, Deputy Secretary General – Energy and Climate Change, at the Union for the Mediterranean.

On the opening remarks, Mr. Köhler pointed the needs for a cooperation north-south, but also south-south. This cooperation is key on the energy sector, through energy efficiency and renewable energy actions implemented through the three major programmes on climate-related actions funded by the European Union in the region: SUDEP South, CES-MED and ClimaSouth.  

The team leaders of the three projects presented its results to the audience, beneficiaries from the different municipalities involved in the implementation of the projects, national and regional stakeholders and EU officials.

This conference allowed Mohammad Sefiani, mayor of Chefchaouen -one of the municipalities participating in the SUDEP South SM-, to share the direct impacts of the project in the daily life of the citizens he represents. For Mr. Sefiani, SUDEP South has triggered a “lever effect to engage with other climate related projects and prepare a follow up step” and has allowed Chefchaouen to be certified as one of the cities of the European Energy Award. 

This exchange among peers from the different regions and sectors is crucial to enhance the interconnectivity and cooperation with actors in the region, allowing them to exchange best practices and to build bridges between the different countries and Mediterranean cities.

After the launching of the capacity building component, the SUDEP South team has brought to Marrakech its latest updates on the project implementation of the 12 municipalities involved.  Naceur Hammami was joined by beneficiary representatives of the SUDEP projects on his presentation “The Sustainable Urban Demonstration Project (SUDEP-South)”. A video presentation was shown to share the working process towards a better energy efficiency and cleaner energy, with a quick overview of the before-and-after.

SUDEP South project started its activities in early 2015 over 12 cities in 6 countries of the southern Mediterranean region. The overall objective of the SUDEP South SM to assist local authorities on addressing sustainable energy challenges.

The main objective is to enable local authorities to implement sustainable energy actions leading to energy savings, energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy sources as solar energy.

The SUDEP South Support Mechanism has been established and operated to:

1. Assist local authorities and reinforce their capacities  and their partners in the implementation of their demonstration projects
2. Promote the replication of innovative actions and the visibility of the programme’s results
3. Create the enabling environment for the exchange of good practices between projects beneficiaries’
4. Develop their own local strategies to ensure widespread dissemination and sustainability of their projects.