Our Buildings: Accelerating climate action buildings – Strengthening civil society and policy makers in Romania and Bulgaria

What is Our Buildings about?

The project ‘Our Buildings’, supported by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), aims at developing capacity and transferring knowledge to enable municipalities and civil society to integrate building renovation strategies in local and National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) in Romania and Bulgaria.

Background

The EU Clean Energy Package brings changes to the way countries must draft and report Integrated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and long-term renovation strategies to decarbonise the building stock by 2050. At the same time, policy makers at regional and municipal level struggle to implement measures to boost renovation activities and local actors face multiple challenges in developing and implementing renovation strategies and climate plans.

The project will develop capacity and transfer knowledge enabling municipalities and civil society to integrate building renovation strategies in local and National Energy and Climate Plans, focusing on the target countries of the project, Bulgaria and Romania, which have similar building stocks, characterised by large run-down communist-era blocks and inefficient individual homes, contributing to air pollution and high CO2 emissions.

Thereby, the Our Buildings project will :

  • enable the tar get groups to fulfil the Clean Energy Package requirements while creating lasting benefits in the two countries,
  • increase exchange between Romania and Bulgaria and disseminate results in all of South East Europe,
  • create capacity to strengthen National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and support effective governance,
  • train 50 national and local public officers and enable civil society and national stakeholders in 10 municipalities to proactively contribute to the NECPs, and support the development of at least 10 municipal renovation strategies.

This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU).

This project is part of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). It is the overarching goal of the EUKI to foster climate cooperation within the European Union (EU) in order to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

Project partners