The Riga Energy Agency joined the NECP dialogue roundtable to make the city’ voice heard by the national government
The National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) 2021-2030 serves as a comprehensive policy framework outlining Latvia’s goals and strategies, including:
- Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and enhancement of carbon dioxide removal efforts.
- Increase in the utilization of renewable energy sources.
- Improvement of energy efficiency while ensuring energy security and enhancing the infrastructure of the energy market.
- Advancement in innovation, research, and competitiveness.
Latvia’s primary objective is to achieve a 65% reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, equivalent to a decrease of 9.2 Mt CO2 eq.
Advocating for more funds, clean energy production and eradication of energy poverty
Collaboration between the EUCityCalc partner Riga Energy Agency (REA) and the Ministry of Climate and Energy commenced in November 2023 with the submission of written suggestions on the NECP. Following the ministry’s review of the feedback, the REA participated in a virtual roundtable on 10 January 2024 to discuss its proposed solutions. The Ministry of Climate and Energy appreciated the inputs from the REA and pledged to review and incorporate them into the NECP.
Key recommendations provided by REA include:
- Advocating for a policy directive in the thermal energy sector to transition from fossil fuels, including natural gas.
- Implementing the obligation scheme outlined in the Energy Efficiency Law, particularly for heating and natural gas network operators.
- Restructuring energy efficiency financing based on principles such as the “revolving fund” concept, utilizing green bonds, or alternative financing instruments.
- Incorporating information on predictable climate change scenarios from LVGMC studies.
- Setting renewable energy source (RES) targets categorized by energy sources, particularly emphasizing wood biomass and other RES.
- Accelerating the timeline for implementing measures under the “renewable energy” section.
- Enhancing performance indicators for building reconnections to efficient centralized supply and increasing funding for heating network renovations and individual heating unit modernization.
- Expanding the list of actions under the “public sector” section to include measures for restoring internal heat networks of renovated or heritage buildings, installing mechanical ventilation systems.
- Having ICT solutions compatible with municipal data formats.
- Increasing the target for renovating cost-efficient buildings by 2050 and allocating adequate resources to achieve it.
- Addressing the challenge of energy poverty with comprehensive measures.
To delve deeper into the report and the complete list of recommendations, please click here.
Explore our toolkit for insights on how cities can bolster their climate action here.
