Bridging European and Local Climate Action

Challenge 

Climate action needs to be enhanced on all governance levels to successfully implement the Paris Agreement and the European climate and energy targets for the year 2030. To reach this target national governments need to create effective policies and framework conditions. A crucial contribution will also have to be made by municipalities and local actors, including schools. These stakeholders can drive profound decarbonization and social transformation processes, but often face political, social, and technical barriers to taking climate action.

Solution

Guidehouse manages the Bridging European and Local Climate Action (BEACON) project in a large consortium of 11 partner organizations across seven EU Member States. The project is financed by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). It aims to realize the Paris Agreement through strengthening multilateral cooperation and creating common ambition with national governments, municipalities, and schools via joint learning, networking, and tailored advisory services. 

With this multilevel governance approach, BEACON seeks to increase the acceptance for and impact of climate mitigation policies and projects across Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe. Guidehouse’s role involves the analysis of successful climate policy instruments, facilitating dialogue between national governments, supporting partner organizations on the ground in target countries, raising awareness and communications, and overall project coordination.

Impact

At the national level, 22 studies on successful emission reduction instruments and climate change laws have been developed and shared with stakeholders. To facilitate climate action on the local level, good practices will be identified and shared in a network of 34 municipalities in the Czech Republic, Romania, Greece, Poland, Portugal, and Germany. Five city partnerships will be promoted in the project. Additionally, 57 schools in the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, and Germany are involved in an initiative to increase climate action awareness for future generations. Through joint learning, networking, and tailored advisory services, policy-makers, municipal actors, and educators gain technical and process-related skills to help develop, refine, and implement measures for saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By bringing diverse actors together, BEACON will contribute to European integration, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build capacity for local climate action, and raise awareness for climate action with a broad set of local stakeholders. 

Want to learn more? Check out BEACON's brochure and watch German Chancellor Angela Merkel introduce EUKI and some of their latest initiatives.