Lessons from municipal networks for mutual support: Empowering municipalities to lead the transition towards a low-carbon society

Municipalities play a crucial role in the transition to a low-carbon society. The EU introduced the instrument of Sustainable Energy (and Climate) Action Plans (SE(C)APs) to foster the transition process at local level, but many municipalities have only just started the process of setting up such a plan and thus have little experience with implementation of the defined measures. To empower municipalities and to fully utilise their potential in the transition to a low-carbon society, the PATH2LC project brings together European municipalities on a regional and international level. The core of the project is the ‘Learning Municipality Network’ (LMN) approach, which promotes close cooperation between municipalities through regular, organised, and moderated meetings that include expert input and peer-to-peer learning. The approach is being implemented in municipalities in five established networks in five countries (France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal). The aim of this paper is to evaluate the process and outcomes of the LMN approach and provide recommendations for its broader diffusion. We evaluated the effectiveness of the LMN approach in the five networks using two types of monitoring: socio-scientific and technical. The socio-scientific monitoring was aimed at determining how the participating municipalities and the local partners moderating the network perceived the LMN approach. We conducted five guideline-based online-interviews with the network moderators and another 20 interviews with stakeholders from the municipalities who were actively involved in the network process. The technical monitoring was aimed at assessing the progress of each network in terms of the implementation status of measures defined in the SE(C)APs. This involved an annual survey of representatives from each municipality on the implementation status of energy efficiency measures. Our results indicate that the LMN approach implemented in the five networks has facilitated the municipalities’ pursuit of emission reduction targets. It has contributed to the implementation of energy efficiency and sustainability measures; most of the measures implemented belong to the category of energy efficiency or renewable energy. In particular, measures in the area of efficiency, renewables and heating and cooling have helped to generate large energy savings for the municipalities concerned. Moving forward, any potential future implementation of an organised networking approach for municipal networks requires careful planning and consideration of the unique characteristics and needs of the participating municipalities to overcome potential barriers. Furthermore, enhancing networking opportunities between municipalities across Europe could further support peer-to-peer learning and best practice sharing, and foster greater success in transitioning towards a low-carbon society.