Debrecen4U December 2, 2024

Together for Debrecen’s green future – SECAP Roundtable

On the 28th of November 2024, a round table discussion took place at the Kölcsey Centre in Debrecen as a conclusion of the public consultation process related to the monitoring report of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) of Debrecen.

Ákos Balázs, deputy mayor of the municipality, led the discussion. In his introduction, he stressed that several urban strategy documents have been prepared in Debrecen in recent years. All of them are the result of serious professional work, are in line with each other, and all of them have a long-term impact on the future of Debrecen. The importance of the SECAP lies in the fact that it sets out the measures needed to mitigate climate change and greenhouse gas emissions and the adaptation actions that can be taken at the city level to prepare residents and economic actors for the challenges of the next century.

Zsuzsanna Balogh, Economics Director of Trenecon Consulting and Planning Ltd., presented the results of the SECAP review.

The event was attended by local government representatives, members of the Green Task Force, heads of city companies and experts.

The SECAP document presents the progress made so far at the city level on carbon emission reduction, energy efficiency efforts, adaptation to climate change and energy poverty. It identifies further steps and actions needed to achieve the targets. SECAP supports local authorities in planning climate-resilient investments (capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change impacts) in the short and long term and facilitates access to various EU funding sources. The document under discussion is a revision and first monitoring report of a document prepared in 2018.

The SECAP is one of Debrecen’s strategic documents, reflecting primarily the city’s energy use for the base year 2007 and the measures taken over the past nearly two decades to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The document monitors the energy crises that have occurred due to economic events over the past 17 years, the growth in energy use, and the impact of these crises on the carbon inventory. Debrecen’s continued economic and social development is visible in the indicators for residential energy use, transport, the service sector and non-ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) industrial actors. The document includes long-term plans to reduce city-wide energy use and associated carbon emissions. It sets mitigation and adaptive targets that, if implemented continuously, will achieve the 2050 targets with the cooperation of citizens and economic actors.

The SECAP provides Debrecen with guidelines for reducing carbon emissions, increasing energy efficiency and adapting to climate change.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu