Catalysing European Local Climate Action · Catalysing European Local Climate Action Summary and...
Transcript of Catalysing European Local Climate Action · Catalysing European Local Climate Action Summary and...
The conference was hosted by adelphi, in collaboration with Navigant, UfU, Energy Cities, FCiências.ID, CRES, NTEF, OER, Environ, SEVEn and PNEC.
Facilitator: Sonja van Renssen
Picture credits: Ingo Cordes
The conference took place in the framework of the project “Bridging European and Local Climate Action” (BEACON), funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
BEACON Conference on Catalysing European Local Climate Action Summary and Key Messages -English- 21 May 2019 Heidelberg | Germany
©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.
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Introduction
On 21 May 2019, more than 90 experts and local government representatives from across Europe
joined the first BEACON conference to discuss how to successfully catalyse local climate actions.
The aim of the conference was to provide a space for local actors to network with colleagues and
exchange practical solutions for climate change mitigation. Thematic discussions ranged from fighting
energy poverty, municipal climate finance, open environmental data management and sustainable
mobility – showcasing the breadth and depth of local climate action.
A BEACON European map facilitated networking among the participants. To symbolize “We work
together for climate action”, participants pinned a postcard with their contact information and picture:
©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.
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Opening & Welcome
The moderator Sonja van Renssen kicked-off the event by introducing the conference’s objectives and
sessions. She highlighted that the conference was one of the rare opportunities for all BEACON
municipalities to meet in one place and personally connect. The conference was therefore designed as a
space to network among colleagues and exchange knowledge on practical solutions for climate change
mitigation.
Dr Silke Karcher, Head of Division, EU Climate and Energy
Policy at the German Ministry for the Environment (BMU),
welcomed the participants and highlighted that it was
exactly the people present in the room – mayors and
practitioners from across Europe, those who are driving
change locally – that inspired the Ministry to launch the
European Climate Initiative (EUKI) and support projects such
as BEACON.
In her opening speech, she welcomed the fact that “climate
change is in the headlines again” but also stressed that
Europe needs to accelerate efforts to achieve a carbon
neutral future by 2050.
Climate-neutrality as a long-term vision for the future
Keynote speech by Pedro Martins Barata, Get2C (Portugal)
What does a carbon neutral future look like? Pedro Martins
Barata’s keynote helped grasp the concept of a net carbon
footprint by 2050 by showcasing Portugal’s new national
roadmap for carbon neutrality. The roadmap models
development pathways in four key sectors and takes into
account cross-cutting social issues. The keynote highlighted
that achieving the necessary low-carbon transformation
requires the collaboration of all stakeholders and levels of
government.
Pedro Barata’s message to the local practitioners: Disruptive
technologies needed to reach carbon neutrality will allow
for a “re-localisation” of policy-making and control,
especially in the energy, transport and waste sectors.
Municipalities are therefore the drivers of this
transformation.
Please find the latest information concerning Portugal´s roadmap here.
“The transformation to a carbon neutral world is already happening. We do not have the choice to just leave things as they are, but actively shape this transformation.” Dr Silke Karcher (BMU)
“The important co-benefit of carbon neutrality is: We will become energy autonomous!” Pedro Martins Barata (Get2C)
©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.
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Local transformation pathways
Facilitated discussion with Stéphane Dupas (Energy Cities), followed by mayor’s statements on their cities’ climate
change ambitions with Leszek Tabor (Mayor of Sztum, Poland), Przemysław Major (Mayor of Cieszyn, Poland),
Susanne Geils (Mayor of Ritterhude, Germany) and Piotr Zając (Vice Mayor of Zamość, Poland)
In his comment to the keynote, Stéphane Dupas agreed that
local governments are drivers of change and that they are
often even more ambitious than national governments. Local
governments have important leverage over key sectors and
planning tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: They can
often influence urban mobility and local energy production,
land use planning and housing (the “Bahnstadt” in Heidelberg
is an example), and they can initiate networks and push local
initiatives for carbon neutrality. Structures like the Covenant
of Mayors support municipalities in shaping adequate long-
term strategies and implementing climate measures. Yet,
cities cannot act independently of other levels of government.
Less than 10% of total CO2 emissions are directly under the
mandates of local governments. Cities rely on enabling
national policy frameworks and legislation to achieve their intended goals.
Following the keynote and comments, mayors from select BEACON municipalities took to the stage,
highlighting what they are already doing for climate-friendly, energy efficient and healthy cities.
“Cities are the driving actors of climate action – often their plans are more concrete than the national level!” Stéphane Dupas (Energy Cities)
“We are fighting energy poverty because climate goals are social goals.” Leszek Tabor (Mayor of Sztum)
“We install solar panels and work on
a strategy for e-mobility.”
Przemysław Major (Mayor of Cieszyn)
“Our focus is on citizen
participation.” Susanne Geils
(Mayor of Ritterhude)
“We are building new cycling lanes and offer bike rental stations.” Piotr Zając (Vice Mayor of Zamość)
©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.
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Workshop Session I
WS 1: Fighting energy poverty: when climate action meets social needs
Speakers: Andreea Vornicu-Chira, City of Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Sam Nierop, EU Energy Poverty Observatory/
Navigant
Making the energy transition just, fair and equitable is becoming an increasingly important challenge as
50 million Europeans are “not able to adequately heat or provide other required energy services in their
homes at affordable cost” (European Energy Network).
What we have learned:
Workshop PPT: energy poverty
WS 2: Financing local climate and energy actions
Speakers: Moritz Schäfer, Navigant; Peter Schilken, Energy Cities; Václav Šebek, SEVEn; Jaroslav Klusák, City of
Litoměřice (Czech Republic); Piotr Zając & Katarzyna Urbańczyk, City of Zamość (Poland)
How can European municipalities mobilise the necessary investments for climate actions despite
strained public budgets? Experts and city representatives discussed different possibilities for unlocking
investment opportunities through EU funding, private sector partnerships and municipal own funds.
Moritz Schäfer introduced participants to the current proposal for the new EU budget for 2021-2027
and the related funding opportunities for local authorities, highlighting that the EU is climate proofing all
its programmes and investments. Peter Schilken mapped out strategic pathways for how to use
municipal own funds to finance climate change measures.
Data may be useful but not the most important. Vulnerable populations often lack trust in authorities and information on housing benefits. In addition, there may be legal challenges (e.g. use of illegal sources of heating).
One solution is to work hand in hand with neighbourhood or health workers, and to train people from the target communities, housing organisations or NGOs to go door-to-door to spread information on available support and energy efficiency tips.
Education and awareness programmes can help tackle costly behaviour in terms of energy. Simply providing free energy does not change behaviour.
“Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 is a core principle that should guide future solutions!” Andreea Vornicu-Chira (City of Cluj-Napoca)
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Litoměřice
Jaroslav Klusák presented his city’s energy saving fund. What can be done and how? Local energy funds can be established to reinvest funds from energy saving measures into new projects, i.e. to motivate schools or kindergartens to save energy. In Litoměřice, the budget varies each year. Practical tips: Data collection and analysis are done by the city energy manager, who also prepares and oversees the implementation of new projects. A bonus can be awarded to the municipal officers involved in projects as motivation.
Zamość
Piotr Zając and Katarzyna Urbańczyk presented how the Zamość has acquired EU funds. What can be done and how? Zamość co-financed many different projects with EU funds, i.e.: sustainable urban mobility, public lighting, energy efficient refurbishment of buildings, and renewable energy for single-family houses. Practical tips: Environmental and climate change project proposals have a high chance of receiving funding. Collaboration between local, regional and national authorities is essential to draft good proposals. Invest in human capacity to write good proposals, i.e. by establishing a municipal task force with qualified staff.
The second part of the session was organised as a
roundtable discussion where participants had the chance to
learn from and interact with local government
representatives and experts who have engaged in
successful financing practices.
Václav Šebek introduced the participants to Energy
Performance Contracting (EPC). EPC allows for funding of
energy efficiency measures from financial savings achieved
through a decrease in energy consumption. An external
company is contracted to implement the measures. The
contractor covers the implementation costs through the
reduction in operational costs. Energy savings are
guaranteed as the company only gets payed if it performs
energy savings. Another advantage is that the contractor provides everything in one package. A
challenge is that it requires extensive preparation and documentation. It is only suitable for improving
the efficiency in larger public facilities (i.e. a package of various measures). As this is a competitive
tendering process, the selection criteria, scope of the assignment and rules of the engagement set for
the contractor are very important. Often, expert consultants are hired to help municipalities to manage
the EPC process.
Successful financing practices:
Workshop PPT: financing local climate action
“Make your municipal budget climate-friendly!” Peter Schilken (Energy Cities)
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Addressing local concerns is more effective than presenting global impacts i.e. melting polar caps. It can increase citizen agreement for climate action.
Local authorities should communicate future local impacts and, at the same time, showcase their ability to provide solutions: “We act on climate change, we are here for you”.
Increasing citizen attention not only introduces co-benefits but also peer pressure, which can increase awareness in the community.
WS 3: Communicate climate change mitigation through climate impacts
Speaker: Inga Menke, Climate Analytics
The findings of the latest International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report identify key climate
impacts for European municipalities: flooding, storms, and droughts, which lead to economic losses and
building damages. Inga Menke showed how our actions today will impact future generations. But also in
the present, climate impacts like droughts, heavy rainfall or storms damage houses and destabilize
agricultural production. “Climate change is the new normal. Events like the hot summer 2018 are more
likely to happen”, she pointed out. Local governments need to address the concerns of citizens and
provide them with solutions on how to prevent such scenarios.
Group discussions along several environmental hazards highlighted how climate change is already
impacting so many of the BEACON municipalities and regions in Europe.
What we have learned:
Workshop PPT: communicating climate impacts
“We experience more extreme weather. In my home town farmers would grow cherries and grapes. In the last years they had the worst yield since 80 years and now fear of their income.” Teodora Stanisheva (NTEF Bulgaria)
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Sztum How to practically facilitate equitable access to energy in the specific case of a pilot energy cooperative for an 8-family-building?
Smart metering is crucial to monitor supply and demand of energy and avoid conflicts among members.
Members of the cooperative get a pre-defined amount of energy from PV production proportional to their shares and the rest of their needs are met at market price.
Combine PV for power supply with gas-based cogeneration for heat production to increase the building’s self-sufficiency.
Bydgoszcz How to balance the city’s energy deficit in winter to achieve self-sufficiency?
It is risky to invite private investors to join the cooperative and build power plants
Consider energy storage for winter (expensive)
Negotiations with big consumers to reduce energy demand in winter
Change energy prices in the critical demand period (winter)
Case Clinics
The conference’s case clinic sessions provided select municipalities with the opportunity to present their climate
change mitigation actions and discuss specific challenges with a small group of colleagues and experts.
Case Clinic A: Poland: Local energy production & energy markets
Speakers: Leszek Tabor & Michał Mroczkowski, City of Sztum, Poland & Tomasz Bońdos, City of Bydgoszcz, Poland
In Poland, a new framework supporting the production and
consumption of energy on the local level has emerged:
energy clusters. These clusters are agreements between
municipalities, energy suppliers, R&D institutions, citizens,
formal or informal interest groups, and/or NGOs to produce
and consume energy locally. Since then, many Polish cities
are exploring ways to develop their own green, local energy
market. The city of Sztum implemented an energy cluster out
of municipal actors, NGOs, universities and private
enterprises. Technical questions on the optimal installation
emerged as well as questions concerning equitable usage of
energy. In Bydgoszcz the municipality made several
investments in local energy generation, but struggles to
balance the energy supply throughout the year.
What we have learned:
Workshop PPT: local energy production
“Our goal is to create a self-sufficient city area by 2030 and at the same time mitigate social exclusion.” Michał Mroczkowski (City of Sztum)
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Combining data from different sources can create new information in terms of climate adaptation/mitigation. It can be helpful for i.e. fire prevention measures.
Good data management needs constant updates and new calibrations to be valid.
The use of open data by the public can be increased via information campaigns
Aggregated data can help to avoid data protection requirements
All relevant stakeholders of the energy transition should take part in data collection and usage of (open) data.
Case Clinic B: Czech Republic: Open environmental data management
Speaker: Jiri Tencar, City of Písek, Czech Republic
The City of Písek is investing in its vision to become a sustainable smart city. One of the cornerstones of
the city’s strategy is open environmental data management. Jiri Tencar presented the city’s current
efforts to create an online energy data portal that publishes data on heat, electricity and water
consumption of municipal buildings on an interactive map. Additionally, he shared his city’s heat
vulnerability maps. Visit Písek´s website for more details: http://www.smart.pisek.eu
What we have learned:
Workshop PPT: environmental data management
Case Clinic C: Germany: Fridays for Future: how can we engage youth for municipal climate
action?
Speaker: Severine Wolff, City of Eberswalde, Germany
In the school strike for climate "Fridays for Future" (FfF), students from around the world are deciding to
skip classes on Fridays and, instead, take part in demonstrations to demand that political leaders take
action on climate change. In the city of Eberswalde, FfF demonstrations started in January 2019 and
continue until today. The municipality welcomes the student’s initiative, although the city is in a legal
dilemma as going to school is compulsory. Severine Wolff from the city of Eberswalde introduced the
problem of how to react to the FfF movement adequately.
Generally, BEACON municipalities support the Fridays for Future movement and recognize the potential
as an inspiration for everyone! But better communication between young people and local governments
is needed to address citizen concerns.
“Make data available to as many people as possible- share relevant information!” Jiri Tencar (City of Písek)
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Open dialogue with your citizens is crucial - local authorities should listen to what pupils have to say and get in contact!
Different solutions apply to different cases – there is no universal formula. See what can be implemented in your municipality and make transparent what is already ongoing.
Think about how best to enable the existence of movements like Fridays for Future. You can provide technical support, offer locations for meetings or help with logistics and catering
What we have learned:
Workshop PPT: Addressing Fridays for future
Workshop Session III
WS 4: Sustainable mobility strategies for local development
Speaker: Jessica le Bris, Green City Experience
How can municipalities develop sustainable mobility
projects that help increase the city’s attractiveness and
support the local retail and tourism sectors? A short
introductory quiz delivered facts on the often
underestimated value of cyclists for liveable city centres.
Switching from cars to bikes can have many advantages for
companies, including reduced annual operational costs.
Jessica Le Bris presented German examples on how to
reach out to target groups like trainees in rural areas, the
tourism sector or public servants. Initiating small projects
and test phases with e-cars or e-bikes has proven to
increase acceptability and demand for sustainable
transport modes.
This provided the foundation for a group discussion on
what is happening in the BEACON municipalities.
“Let´s make local action visible! Students don´t know what we are already doing in mitigation. It opens a new way of participation.” Carla Guerreiro (City of Setúbal)
“You need to give people the opportunity to experience new mobility options! We organized a project for young trainees, who first were reluctant to use e-bikes. After they tested them a couple of days, they wanted to keep them!” Jessica Le Bris (Green City Experience)
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Studies show that the acceptance of biking is increasing – so jump on to this trend and spur the transition!
Cycling has many co-benefits like reduced space demands and reduced operational costs, as well as increased value of city centres and retail stores.
Create a group of like-minded people, companies and investors that may help demonstrate solutions (e.g. test-driving e-cars)
Networks of cycling friendly municipalities can facilitate the communication process on all levels.
What we have learned:
Quiz: advantages of biking for companies and local development
Workshop PPT: sustainable mobility for local development
WS 5: Incentives for energy savings in schools
Speakers: Florian Kliche, Independent Institute for Environmental Issues (UfU) & Milko Mladenov, Mayor of Lyulin,
Sofia, Bulgaria
This session highlighted success factors and benefits of
introducing and implementing energy saving projects in public
buildings and schools. Florian Kliche showed examples from
schools in Germany, where 220.000 € could be saved through
improved energy and heating systems. To successfully
implement energy saving in schools, it is important to consult
external experts and integrate teachers, pupils and technical
staff into the project.
Case studies from the Lyulin district of Sofia, Bulgaria transferred
modern business models into the local public sectors and
increased the responsibility of involved actors. Behaviour change
was a main pillar of this project, where 13 schools took part.
Each school could reduce energy demand by 7% and was guided
by educational sessions. Milko Mladenov was not only able to
save money but also able to increase the wellbeing of his citizens
and contribute to the global process of climate action, which
earned him much respect in the community.
“In Kalamata we built a good cycling infrastructure and many people use it – especially for tourism!” Vassileios Dionysopoulos (City of Kalamata)
“The maintenance of buildings after renovation is just as important as the renovation itself.” Kamelia Georgieva (Ecofund Bulgaria)
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Saving money is possible and should be outlined as a co-benefit.
The important success factor of projects is to aim for the long run and offer (financial) incentives.
Long-term success is achieved if energy saving methods are integrated in the curriculum.
It is very important to bring everyone together – technical and educational staff as well as different political levels have to join forces.
What we have learned:
Workshop PPT: energy saving in schools
Site Visit: Heidelberg´s passive house settlement “Bahnstadt”
Speaker: Stefan Rees, Department of Urban Planning, City of Heidelberg
The district “Bahnstadt” in Heidelberg is currently the
world´s largest passive-house neighbourhood. On a former
116 hectare freight yard, a sustainable new neighbourhood
has been constructed to house up to 6.000 residents. The
new district was built to tackle population growth, urban
regeneration and climate change mitigation at the same
time. During the side visit, participants had the chance to
get to know the neighbourhood and learn more about the
innovative architecture.
PPT: Bahnstadt Heidelberg
“We already saved 7% of the energy use in Indira Ghandi school – both by refurbishment of the building and educational initiatives!” Milko Mladenov (Mayor of Lyulin Distrct, Sofia)
Despite the rainy weather, participants were eager to learn about the new district and see it for themselves.
©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.
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“Movements like Fridays for Future already tell us that the pressure to act is high – we need to take responsibility for our future and those of coming generations now.” – João Mourato
Closing Plenary
Summary of conference‘s outcomes: Evi Tzanakaki (Centre for Renewable
Energy Sources and Saving, Greece), João Mourato (FCiências.ID,
Portugal) and Sylwia Słomiak (Association of the Wisłoka River Basin
Communes, Poland), moderated by Sonja van Renssen
In the closing session, the conference’s key listeners Evi
Tzanakaki, João Mourato and Sylwia Słomiak reflected on their
learnings of the day.
The conference showcased the collaborative spirit needed to
achieve successful climate change mitigation: participants
made use of the workshop sessions and breaks to network
and exchange on the benefits of climate action for their cities.
A wealth of small, but ambitious steps was presented
throughout the day.
BEACON municipalities are united in their motivation for
pushing forward climate action: enhanced living conditions
and economic savings are in the limelight. Action fields such as
tackling energy poverty and increasing energy efficiency in
schools make it possible to address climate and social goals
hand in hand.
These arguments are key to reach out to the local population
– a challenge yet to be mastered in most of the municipalities.
How can municipalities engage with a population that does
not know the risks and impacts of climate change? Local
governments must show concrete ways of action and
embody new behaviours. It’s a mindset challenge!
Joining forces can help leverage funds and access
information. Inter-municipal cooperation, as demonstrated by
the Association of the Wisłoka River Basin Communes, can be
an effective strategy, especially for smaller municipalities.
Municipalities can benefit from networks like BEACON to find
peers and solutions that might already exist – now it’s time to act!
Find more pictures from the conference here.
“Small to mid-size municipalities can also be change makers, it´s not all about big cities. But the national level needs to put more emphasis on local capacity for climate action.” – Sylwia Słomiak
“Local action cannot work if citizens are not involved! The motivation in Greece is to highlight economic benefits such as saving money.” – Evi Tzanakaki
©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.
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Conference Participants List
If you wish to contact a conference participant, send us an email at: [email protected]
First name Last name Name of municipality/ organisation Country
Theodoros Agryropoulos Dorida Greece
Konstantinos Antonopoulos Dorida Greece
Myrthe Baijens Filderstadt Germany
Magdalena Bauer adelphi Germany
Iudit Bere-Semeredi Timisoara Romania
Tomasz Bońdos Bydgoszcz Poland
Kristen Brand Navigant Germany
Alexandra Bussler FCiências.ID Portugal
Urszula Byczek Jasło Poland
Tomáš Chmelík Přeštice Czech Republic
Jan Cieslar Rožnov pod Radhoštěm Czech Republic
Ana Cristina Costa Braga Portugal
José Maria Costa Viana do Castelo Portugal
Ivaylo Dachev Veliko Tarnovo Bulgaria
Kristina Dely Energy Cities France
Vasileios Dionysopoulos Kalamata Greece
Stéphane Dupas Energy Cities Germany
Yordana Eneva Pavel Banya Bulgaria
Katarzyna Fornal - Urbańczyk Zamość Poland
Thomas Freitag Pirna Germany
Susanne Geils Ritterhude Germany
Quentin Genard E3G Belgium
Vladimir Georgiev Samokov Bulgaria
Kamelia Georgieva-Nikolova National Trust Ecofund Bulgaria
Uwe Heitkamp Magazine ECO123 Portugal
Samuel Held EUKI (GIZ) Germany
Simona Iliescu Ramnicu Valcea Romania
Silke Karcher German Ministry for the Environment Germany
Beata Kempa Bydgoszcz Poland
Florian Kliche UfU Germany
Jaroslav Klusák Litoměřice Czech Republic
Iwona Korohoda Polska Siec Energie Cities Poland
Martina Krčová Kněžice Czech Republic
Jessica Le Bris Green City Experience Germany
Julia Legelli adelphi Germany
Anastasios Liapis Farsala Greece
Sigrid Lindner Navigant Germany
©2018 BEACON | All rights reserved.
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Ornella Maggi adelphi Germany
Przemysław Major Cieszyn Poland
Miha Mariana Deva Romania
Pedro Martins Barata Get2C Portugal
Inga Menke Climate Analytics Germany
Alexandre Moreira Ansião Portugal
João Mourato FCiências.ID Portugal
Michał Mroczkowski Sztum Poland
Ulrich Müller Ritterhude Germany
Sam Nierop Navigant Netherlands
Perry Oehmigen adelphi Germany
Marie Peřinková Prachatice Czech Republic
Wojciech Piękoś Jasło Poland
Elpida Polychroni CRES Greece
Miloš Prokýšek Písek Czech Republic
Camelia Rață OER Romania
Ciurte Rodica Zalau Romania
Carlos Santos Setúbal Portugal
Ilias Savvakis Agios Dimitrios Greece
Moritz Schäfer Navigant Germany
Peter Schilken Energy Cities Germany
Lisa Schneider adelphi Germany
Heiner Schwarz-Leuser Schwäbisch Hall Germany
Václav Šebek SEVEn Czech Republic
Camille Serre adelphi Germany
Sylwia Słomiak Association of the Wisłoka River Basin Communes Poland
Liviu Stanciu Alba Iulia Romania
Teodora Stanisheva National Trust Ecofund Bulgaria
Lisa Strauch adelphi Germany
Dimitrios Sykaras Agios Dimitrios Greece
Leszek Tabor Sztum Poland
Irina Tatu OER Romania
Jiří Tencar Písek Czech Republic
Evi Tzanakaki CRES Greece
Jan Venclík Písek Czech Republic
Andreea Vornicu Cluj-Napoca Romania
Sebastian Witte Arnsberg Germany
Severine Wolff Eberswalde Germany
Rupert Wronski Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V. Germany
Piotr Zając Zamość Poland
Michail Zouloufos Syros Greece