Empowering municipalities: Wallonia’s model for multilevel governance to reach EU targets

The Walloon regional coordination

Since 2017, the Wallonia Region has been a Covenant of Mayors Coordinator, now supporting 196 Belgian municipalities in developing and implementing their Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs). Of these, 190 municipalities are actively working towards their 2030 targets, and 9 have committed to becoming climate neutral by 2050, thanks to the comprehensive support from the regional authority and its coordination system. The support offered by the regional coordination is articulated around five main areas:  

1. Technical support, providing municipalities diagnostic tools for emissions, territory vulnerability, etc. and offering them best practices to follow. 

2. Financial support for SECAPs development and implementation. 

3. Monitoring of SECAPs implementation, supporting the assessment and monitoring of progress made by municipalities in implementing their SECAPs, ensuring alignment with the Covenant’s goals, and overseeing the monitoring of POLLEC subsidies.

4. Mobilisation, engaging stakeholders and increasing participation at the local level to ensure the success of the Covenant of Mayors, through workshops, campaigns, and information dissemination.

5. Information, disseminating information on new policies, energy and climate data, and best practices to municipalities, enhancing their ability to act effectively. 

To ensure municipalities not only develop but successfully implement their plans, the Wallonia Region focuses on two pillars: a robust multilevel coordination system and secure funding for both projects and the staff managing them.

The coordination system

Wallonia’s multilevel governance structure is built on a well-organised network of actors grouped into two main bodies: the Coordination Team and the Support Committee.

The Coordination Team is composed of Walloon Agency for Environment AWAC (Agence Wallonne de l’Air et du Climat) and the public service for energy SPW Énergie (Service Public de Wallonie Énergie), these organisations have complementary roles in supporting the development and implementation of SECAPs.

The Support Committee is composed by several actors operating at municipal and supra-municipal level:

• The Union of Walloon cities and municipalities (L’Union des Villes et Communes Wallonnes) promotes and supports membership to the Covenant, facilitates the exchange of experiences between the signatories and the candidate cities, plays an intermediary role between its members, the convention of mayors and the media, and identifies synergies between events and related initiatives at the regional and national level. 9 

• Supralocal Coordinators (Coordinateurs Supralocaux - CPT) coordinate the support of municipalities in developing and implementing their SECAPs. Supralocal coordinators together with regional coordinators aim at harmonising the coordination of the Covenant of Mayors at regional and supra-municipal level and meeting municipal coordinators evolving needs.

• A public procurement provider designated by the coordination team offers technical support to municipalities for the development of their SECAPs.

This coordination model ensures that each municipality benefits from a municipal and supralocal coordinator, supported by Energie Commune and the regional Coordination Team. Moreover, Wallonia’s public funding scheme enables even the smallest municipalities to access the resources and expertise needed to develop and implement their SECAPs. 

POLLEC: Walloon way to support both projects and people

The POLLEC (Local Energy and Climate Policy) initiative is Wallonia's flagship programme enabling local authorities to develop and implement their climate and energy policies. The POLLEC calls provided local authorities with grants to develop and implement a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) by financing projects and the human resources responsible for implementing these SECAPs.

From 2020 to 2022, POLLEC has launched three funding rounds, resulting in €68.4 million in funding for 365 human resources positions and 316 projects. Municipal or supralocal coordinators have been awarded two- to three-year contracts, renewable in subsequent calls, while project funding extends over one to four years. The programme aims to fund interventions that are not supported by other financial sources. 

Of the 329 projects funded between 2020 and 2022, 135 focused on promoting sustainable mobility. Other major investments were devoted to improving buildings and energy-efficient lighting.

Lessons learnt and next steps

Wallonia’s multilevel coordination model has catalysed numerous innovative pilot projects. These include the development of energy communities, public-private renewable energy cooperatives, building renovation initiatives, biomass supply chains, and participatory governance processes.

To continue supporting local climate and energy policies, Wallonia's coordination system needs... :

• a PAEDC monitoring tool enabling to collect information for local policies. 

• Make the financial support mechanism permanent

• Strengthen political support for the programme

• Increase the importance of local and regional coordinators

• Continuing methodological support for the implementation of SECAPs

• Promote and communicate the benefits of the programme's results

Pollec - POLitique Locale Energie Climat 

Covenant Member since 2017

Area covered: Regional - 16,844km ² (area of the NUTS3 included)  

Key figures

• 196 Belgian municipalities involved
• 9 supra-municipal structures supervising municipalities
• 329 approved energy and climate projects
• 171 full time equivalent employed in municipalities coordinating SECAPs
• 2,5 full time equivalent employed in the Region to supervise the program (SPW Energie and AwAC) 

GHG emissions reduction: 

• 55% by 2023
• Climate neutrality by 2050

Related links

FED – Local energy and Climate Policy

Support Walloon local authorities

Contact

pollec@spw.wallonie.be