Since 2009, the City of Rijeka has been a signatory of the European initiative, Covenant of Mayors, launched by the European Commission in 2008 with the aim of including and supporting mayors in achieving the climate and energy targets set by the European Union. The City of Rijeka is among the first Croatian cities to join the Covenant of Mayors.
In October 2015, two initiatives, the Covenant of Mayors and the Adaptation of Mayors, were officially merged into the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy initiative. The new initiative contributes the achievement of the EU 40% greenhouse gas-reduction target by 2030, and the adoption of a joint approach to tackling mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and ensures access to safe, sustainable and available energy for all.
In February 2019, the City Council adopted the Decision on the accession of the City of Rijeka to the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, committing itself to:
- reduce CO2 emissions (and, if possible, other greenhouse gases) in our territory by at least 40% by 2030 through more efficient energy use and using more renewable energy sources,
- increase its resilience by adapting to climate change consequences
Action plan for sustainable energy and the fight against climate change
Also, the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (hereinafter: SECAP) was drawn up for the City of Rijeka, which was adopted by the City Council in December 2020. SECAP is a key document with climate change mitigation and adaptation measures to be implemented to achieve the targets, together with timeframes and assigned responsibilities.
SECAP is a document that represents an upgrade of the SEAP that was adopted in 2010 and it contains:
- inventory of initial emissions that includes the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted as a result of energy consumption for a given year,
- climate change risk and vulnerability assessment, i.e. an analysis that determines the type and range of risks by analysing possible hazards and assessing vulnerabilities that could pose a threat or harm people, property, sources of income and the environment on which they depend.
Energy efficiency action plan in direct energy consumption
In accordance with the provisions of the Energy Efficiency Act, the City of Rijeka has prepared an Action Plan for energy efficiency in direct energy consumption for a three-year period.
On 20 February 2020, the City Council adopted the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency of the City of Rijeka for the period 2020-2022. The plan is based on the Action Plan for Energy Efficiency of the City of Rijeka for the period 2017-2019, which was adopted by the City Council on 22 December 2016. Pursuant to that plan, annual implementation plans are adopted every year.