FAQs

The EU Covenant of Mayors is a movement of Mayors and local leaders committing to delivering action at the pace that science sets, in a joint effort to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.  

The EU Covenant envisions that by 2050 European citizens will be living in climate-neutral, decarbonized and resilient communities with access to affordable, secure and clean energy. It calls for a transition that is fair, inclusive and respectful of us citizens of the world, and of our planet’s resources. 

To reach such an ambitious goal, the EU Covenant of Mayors invites all its signatories to step up their ambitions and to achieve climate neutrality at the latest by 2050, meaning that net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the city system are reduced as close to zero as possible, with any small residual emissions balanced by removals or equivalent measures, based on their local baseline and circumstances. 

• EU targets 

The European Union has renewed its ambition through the adoption of the EU Green Deal. Within this framework and, more specifically, within the European Climate Law, a target is set of at least 55%reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, and a long-term vision to reaching climate neutrality in Europe by 2050. These objectives are to be achieved through a transformational change happening in all sectors of our society. The implementation package “Fit for 55” package upgraded energy, transport and climate legislation to meet the 2030 target. It also included targets of improving energy efficiency by 11.7% and achieving a 42.50% share for renewable energy (with the ambition to reach 45%). 

In the long-term, signatories commit to climate neutrality by 2050, with a minimum GHG reduction target of 80%. 

The EU has developed a broad and interlinked set of climate, energy and social policies that are highly relevant for local and regional authorities, as they shape investment priorities, regulatory obligations, renovation strategies, energy planning and support for vulnerable households. Two are especially relevant for Covenant signatories: 

• European Climate Law – it sets the legally binding objective of making the EU climate-neutral by 2050 and establishes the framework for intermediate emissions-reduction targets, and it is the overarching legal basis for climate action across all levels of governance, including regional and local planning.  
• Citizens Energy Package – forms an essential part of the Affordable Energy Action Plan, setting out concrete actions to lower energy bills for households, protect and empower consumers, tackle energy poverty, and implement existing EU legislation effectively, expected to strengthen citizen participation in the energy transition and particularly relevant for local authorities working closely with residents, cooperatives and community energy actors. 

Find the full overview of EU Climate and Energy Policy at the following links: 

• Climate Action 
• Energy 

The European Commission support Covenant signatories through various agents.  

At European level, Covenant signatories are supported by the EU Covenant of Mayors office, the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, and by the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub.

• EU Covenant of Mayors Office 

The EU Covenant of Mayors Office offers many opportunities for networking, cooperation, and knowledge exchange, such as tailored trainings and peer-learning programmes; as well as capacity building activities on various themes (e.g. mitigation, adaptation, energy poverty, multi-level governance, funding and financing instruments) - all listed on the online calendar of events - and so much more. The office also offers tailored assistance through its Helpdesk. 

• Joint Research Centre 

Covenant signatories benefit from the highest level of technical support by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, which provides an evaluation of a representative sample of SECAPs according to a new methodology. Moreover, the JRC carries out group analysis under the Regional SECAPs Assessment Framework for Covenant Coordinators and Supporters. The JRC also offers a Helpdesk dedicated to technical inquiries and elaborates on technical and methodological guidance documents for Covenant signatories. The information collected by the JRC through signatories’ reporting is used for aggregated analysis and informs and supports the definition of European policies on climate and energy.  

For more specific questions around the Covenant methodological requirements or questions related to the JRC’s evaluation, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has established a technical Helpdesk to be contacted at jrc-com-technical-helpdesk@ec.europa.eu.  

• European Energy Poverty Advisory Hub 

Covenant signatories are also supported by the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH), providing technical guidance, through dedicated helpdesk, and capacity building opportunities on energy poverty.  

At the national, regional and sub-regional level, the EU Covenant of Mayors promotes and supports a network of so-called Covenant Coordinators and Supporters, supporting in turn local authorities with their climate and energy actions. 

• Covenant Coordinators 

Covenant coordinators (ministries, regions, provinces, counties and national energy agencies) provide technical and financial support to signatories, through dedicated staff, capacity building opportunities, and technical guidance for SECAP’s development and implementation.  

• Covenant Supporters  

Covenant supporters (local/regional energy and climate agencies, associations of local authorities, NGOs and civil society organisations) provide technical support to signatories, through dedicated staff, capacity building opportunities, and technical guidance for SECAP’s development and implementation. 

Funded by the European Commission, the EU Covenant of Mayors Office (CoM Office) is responsible for the overall coordination and implementation of the initiative. The CoM – Europe Helpdesk assists the EU Covenant CoM-munity in all aspects related to their participation in the initiative - from the registration process to the development and reporting of the action plan. The EU Covenant of Mayors Office is currently managed by a consortium of European networks and associations who represent local and regional entities, composed of Energy Cities, CEMR, Climate Alliance, Eurocities, FEDARENE and ICLEI Europe and of the ICT company Akaryon. The EU CoM Office works under the supervision of the European Commission’s Directorates General for Climate Action and for Energy, which are in charge of the scheme, and in cooperation with the Joint Research Centre. 

The EU Covenant of Mayors Office is the primary interface for the EU Covenant of Mayors Community. Its role is to:

• Assist local authorities in joining the initiative through the adhesion and registration process. 

• Build capacities of signatories through guidance documents, webinars and workshops. 

• Answer administrative and technical inquiries. 

• Support communication and promotional activities. 

• Connect Covenant Coordinators and Covenant Supporters with signatories.  

• Facilitate networking activities within the EU Covenant of Mayors CoM-munity. 

The EU Covenant of Mayors fully apply the European Commission’s Data Policy, setting the rules that the EU Covenant of Mayors Office applies for collecting, processing, sharing and publishing data of local and regional authorities and organizations, member of the EU Covenant of Mayors CoM-munity. 

Further information on how the European Commission protects and collects personal data is available here.  

By joining the EU Covenant of Mayors, local and regional authorities become part of a recognised European and global movement working together to accelerate the energy and climate transition. Signatories gain access to a trusted methodology, opportunities to connect and learn from peers, and support to turn their climate and energy ambitions into action. 

• High international recognition and visibility  

The EU Covenant of Mayors is a longstanding and recognised movement of local and regional authorities. By joining, signatories gain visibility at European and international level, contribute to a collective voice for local action, and can showcase their achievements and good practices through the EU Covenant of Mayors website, communication channels and events.  

• Strong connections and opportunities for cooperation 

The Covenant provides opportunities to learn from peers, exchange experiences and connect with relevant initiatives, organisations, services and funding opportunities. Signatories can participate in peer-learning, networking, capacity-building and thematic events, while the network of Covenant Coordinators and Supporters provides additional connections and support at national and regional level. 

• A recognised methodology for climate and energy action 

The Covenant provides a common, science-based and flexible approach to planning, implementing and monitoring local climate and energy action. Its methodology and monitoring framework help signatories structure their strategies, track progress and demonstrate results, while adapting to different national and local contexts. 

Signatories can also use MyCovenant, a free online platform for preparing and monitoring climate and energy strategies, including emissions inventories, climate risk and vulnerability assessments and related actions. The methodology evolves alongside European climate and energy policies, helping local authorities align their strategies with EU ambitions. 

Local authorities joining the EU Covenant of Mayors commit to delivering action at the pace that science sets, in a joint effort to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels .In short, Covenant Signatories commit to (1) reducing greenhouse gas emissions on their territory, (2) increasing resilience and prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change, and (3) tackling energy poverty as one key action to ensure a just transition. 

To turn this vision into reality, the Commitment Document prompts Mayors and local leaders to: 

1. Commit to set mid- and long-term targets (consistent with the EU objectives, and at least as ambitious as national targets), with the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050; 
2. Engage with citizens, business and government at all levels to implement this vision; 
3. Act now to get on track and accelerate the necessary transition; 
4. Network with fellow Mayors and local leaders to get inspiration from each other. 

The EU Covenant signatories commit to develop, implement and report - within the established deadlines, an action plan to reach their targets. More specifically, signatories commit to submit the following: 

• A strategy with a long-term vision including mitigation targets and climate adaptation goals (within 2 years after their official entry into the EU Covenant of Mayors). 
• A Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI), quantifying the energy consumed and therefore the emissions emitted on the signatory's territory (within 2 years). 
• A Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA), identifying and assessing the climate hazards and vulnerable sectors (within 2 years). 
• Actions undertaken on mitigation, adaptation and energy poverty. 
• Monitoring reports on the implementation of actions (every 2 years) and on emissions (every 4 years). 

Local authorities can join the initiative at any time, there is no deadline!  

There is no need to have an action plan developed before joining the initiative. 

As soon the local authority’s political council (or equivalent body) adopt its vision for climate neutrality, the local authority can sign the commitment document and register to become member of the initiative.  

Registrations are checked on a (working) daily basis and new signatories are usually welcomed within a couple of (working) days from their registration. 

No. The EU Covenant of Mayors is a bottom-up and voluntary initiative and there are no fees associated with your participation.  

You need to take only two steps to join the initiative:  

1. Your municipal council (or equivalent decision-making body) adopts and signs the Covenant Commitment Document 
2. You register your local authority in MyCovenant.  

After verification of your registration and uploaded document, the EU Covenant of Mayors  Office confirms your participation. You receive access to the MyCovenant platform after your application has been approved.  

If you are not yet committed to the EU Covenant’s 2050 targets, you are strongly encouraged to raise your ambition and renew your Covenant commitments – to match the latest version of the Covenant Commitment Document at your earliest convenience, according to your municipal planning cycles. To do so, 

• Present the EU Covenant of Mayors Commitment document to the municipal council (or equivalent decision-making body) and get it signed by your Mayor (or other relevant political representative). 
• Once officially adopted, there is no need to register again. Simply go to your signatory’s profile in MyCovenant, and click on the button “renew commitments”, then follow the proposed steps. 

Note: If you would like to change the type of adhesion from individual to a group of signatories or vice versa, please contact our Helpdesk. 

Your initial mitigation target expired in 2020. It is time to renew and extend your commitments! Please note that all signatories still committed to the 2020 targets only by June 2027 will no longer be considered Covenant signatories and their profiles will be deleted from the online platform. Should they wish to join again, former signatories will be welcomed through a new registration process.   

The Mayors Adapt initiative no longer exists. Former Mayors Adapt signatories automatically joined the EU Covenant of Mayors when the two initiatives merged back in 2015.  

You are highly encouraged to renew and extend your Covenant commitments. Please note that all signatories still committed to the Mayors Adapt only by June 2027 will no longer be considered Covenant signatories and their profiles will be deleted from the online platform. Should they wish to join again, former signatories will be welcomed through a new registration process. 

We designed the Joint Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan approach specifically for the case of small-sized municipalities within the same territorial area, i.e. ensuring territorial continuity and administrative cost savings.  

There are two options to develop a joint action plan: 

• Committing separately - ‘individual CO₂ reduction commitment’ (Option 1): each signatory in the group individually commits to a set joint target, e.g. carbon neutrality by 2050. Each signatory is required to report the action plan in the individual profile of MyCovenant platform. Each member of the group has to upload the action plan onto their individual profile and each municipal council has to approve the document.  
• Committing collectively / together - ‘shared CO₂ reduction commitment’ (Option 2): the group of signatories collectively commits to a set joint target, e.g. carbon neutrality by 2050. The group is required to provide only one action plan for the whole group in MyCovenant platform. The action plan document to upload is a common one and includes all the members of the group, thus, each municipal council has to approve it.  

In both cases, the ‘group of signatories’ is strongly encouraged to appoint a contact person responsible for coordinating the work throughout the action plan development and implementation process. It could be a staff member from one of the municipalities of the group or the province / region acting as an official Covenant Coordinator (see the list of Covenant Coordinators here). 

• For groups committing separately, each local authority adopts and signs the Covenant Commitment Document for groups “committing separately”. 
• For groups committing collectively, each local authority adopts and signs the Covenant Commitment Document for groups “committing collectively”. 
• The first signatory registering will be requested to create the group by choosing its name and its type (committing collectively or committing separately) and adding the details of the main contact person for such group (for committing collectively only).  
• Once that the EU Covenant of Mayors Office approves the registration of the first signatory, the other signatories can register as well, selecting the group from a drop-down menu. 

Find out more in our infographic on joint adhesion. 

The European Commission recognises Covenant Coordinators as important allies to support EU Covenant of Mayors signatories in meeting their commitments and increasing the impact of the initiative. 

Typical tasks of the Covenant Coordinators include: 

• Promoting accession to the EU Covenant of Mayors. 
• Providing technical and strategic assistance to signatory municipalities for the development, implementation and monitoring of their action plans. 
• Providing financial support to signatories, possibly in the form of direct support (grants, subsidies, etc.), and technical support via allocating for instance human resources or dedicated offices or conducting a CO₂ emission inventory and/or a climate risk assessment, as well as in preparing and implementing the action plan. 
• Supporting experience and knowledge-sharing between (existing and potential) signatories. 
• Working in partnership with other Covenant National/Territorial Coordinators and Supporters to foster joint approaches. 
• Participating in the EU Covenant of Mayors activities and organize relevant events to promote the initiative.  
• Regularly reporting to the EU Covenant of Mayors Office, and minimum once a year, the activities carried out to support signatories and participate in the strategic implementation of the Covenant. 

Covenant Coordinators play a key role in engaging and empowering local authorities on climate and energy action, helping align local strategies with regional and European objectives. 

Becoming a Covenant Coordinator provides: 

• A recognised framework to engage local authorities and support climate and energy planning, while complementing existing regional frameworks and programmes. 
• Greater visibility and recognition at European and national level, as part of the largest European movement of local authorities working on climate and energy. 
• A platform for multilevel cooperation, connecting regional authorities with local governments, European institutions and other actors supporting the transition. 
• Opportunities to share and showcase regional action through Covenant events, campaigns and communication channels. 

As a Covenant Coordinator, you have access to the password-protected area in MyCovenant to share information and key data and monitor the activities of associated Covenant signatories. 

Through MyCovenant, a Coordinator can:       

• Keep its profile but also the signatories’ associated profiles always up-to-date. 
• Keep track on signatories’ progress (e.g. action plan, monitoring). 
• Request an 18-months extension of deadline for signatories’ action plans.  
• Request an 18-month extension of the deadline for signatories to submit their monitoring reports.  

If your administration is interested in becoming an official Covenant Coordinator, please follow these steps:  

• Fill in the registration form. 
• After confirmation of eligibility, the Coordinators Helpdesk will send you the commitment statement.  
• Fill it in, get it signed by your President or other high relevant political representative, and send it back to coordinators@eumayors.eu. 
• Upon reception of the duly filled in and signed commitment statement, the EU Covenant of Mayors Office will create an online profile for your administration that will allow you to actively participate in the EU Covenant of Mayors CoM-munity and help you better support your associated signatories. 

For any question, please contact the Coordinators Helpdesk. 

Being knowledgeable about the regulatory, legislative and financial framework under which they operate, Covenant Supporters are ideally placed to provide tailored advice to signatories and identify synergies with other initiatives. They can also provide technical expertise to Covenant signatories. 

Tasks to be performed by a Covenant Supporter include: 

• Promote the EU Covenant of Mayors initiative, mobilising existing and potential signatories 
• Support and advise EU Covenant of Mayors signatories 
• Support exchanges and share knowledge, experiences, best practices, tools or resources relevant to EU Covenant of Mayors signatories 
• Work in partnership with other EU Covenant of Mayors Supporters and Coordinators to foster joint action and promote a coordinated approach 
• Participate in EU Covenant of Mayors activities 
• Report regularly, and not less than every two years, to the EU Covenant of Mayors Office on the activities carried out in the framework of the initiative.

Covenant Supporters play a key role in mobilising and supporting local authorities on climate and energy action, bringing their expertise and experience to the Covenant community. 

Becoming a Covenant Supporter provides: 

• A recognised platform to engage local authorities, supported by a common methodology, language and resources for climate and energy planning. 
• Greater visibility and recognition at European and international level, with opportunities to showcase expertise, activities and good practices. 
• A European network for cooperation and knowledge-sharing, connecting with other organisations working to support local climate and energy transitions. 
• Opportunities to connect with EU initiativesand events, gaining inspiration and strengthening cooperation with relevant actors across Europe. 

As a Covenant Supporter, you have access to the password-protected area in MyCovenant to share information and key data and, with associated signatories’ permission, monitor their activities. 

If signatories share their profile with a Covenant Supporter, the latter can:       

• Keep its profile but also the signatories’ associated profiles always up-to-date. 
• Keep track on signatories’ progress (e.g. action plan, monitoring). 
• Request an 18-months extension of deadline for signatories’ action plans.  
• Request an 18-month extension of the deadline for signatories to submit their monitoring reports. 

If your organisation is interested in becoming an official Covenant Supporter, please follow these steps:  

• Fill in the registration here. 
• After confirmation of eligibility, you will receive a commitment statement.  
• Fill it in, get it signed by your President or other relevant legal representative and send it back to the Supporters Helpdesk. 
• Upon reception of the duly filled-in and signed commitment statement, the EU Covenant of Mayors Office will create an online profile for your organisation that will allow you to actively participate in the EU Covenant of Mayors CoM-munity and help you better support your associated signatories. 

For any question, please contact the Supporters Helpdesk. 

Please submit a request through the dedicated section on the MyCovenant login page: 

 “If you forgot your user email, please contact the Helpdesk”, or send an email to the Helpdesk. 

As of September 2026, MyCovenant requires Covenant Signatories, Coordinators and Supporters to link their account to an EU login, to further secure their personal data.  

You can link your account to your EU login through the dedicated button on MyCovenant. 

For further information on the EU login please visit the EU login user portal. 

Most probably because your local authority is already registered in MyCovenant. Please contact the Helpdesk to retrieve your credentials, indicating the name of your local authority and your country. 

To manage your subscription, please enter MyCovenant, go to your Contact Profile and deselect the subscription to the newsletter(s). 

You should submit your action plan online via the reporting platform MyCovenant. In addition to the actual action plan document, we ask you to report a minimal set of information. 

For the submission to be valid, all mandatory fields in MyCovenant must be filled in (indicated in green in the platform) and at least one action plan document (e.g. mitigation action plan/adaptation action plan/integrated mitigation and adaptation action plan) should be uploaded. This plan needs to be approved by the municipal council or an equivalent decision-making body. The uploading of additional documents is optional. All documents should be uploaded in a PDF format, in the national language, unless an English translation is available. Moreover, you can decide to make these documents public. 

For further information on how to submit an action plan, please consult our guidelines. 

If you encounter problems during the submission of your action plan, please contact our Helpdesk. 

In the Reporting Corner, the reporting template menu indicates the status of completion of each reporting section using the following indicators: complete and  incomplete. If the system detects incomplete sections, it displays error notifications at the bottom of each section. Please carefully revise the reported information, complete the online template, save all information and click on “submit”.  

If cannot understand where the issue is, check the “show me how” section at the top of each section of the reporting corner, and/or scroll your mouse next to the headers or fields’ labels to open the info-box. 

If the problem persists, please contact our Helpdesk. 

No, submission of the entire action plan via excel is currently not possible. A MS Excel file is available offline and can be used as a working document only, if you decide so.  In this case, you should transfer the data and information contained in this file to the online Reporting Corner sections in order to submit your action plan. 

The platform, however, allows for the automatic import via MS excel file of the full emission inventories. You can find the related MS Excel file here.  

You can add as many inventories as you need and import them via the dedicated feature “import” in MyCovenant. A detailed guide is available on MyCovenant. 

If you encounter issues, please contact our Helpdesk. 

The minimum reporting requirements refer to the mandatory data from the action plan and monitoring reports that signatories need to provide through MyCovenant platform.  

Please consult the Covenant reporting guidelinesto get more details. 

The EU Covenant of Mayors Office welcomes liaisons with national and European platforms to verify the alignment between the EU Covenant reporting framework and theirs. Should such alignment exists, these platforms can be connected to MyCovenant via API for the automatic transfer of Signatories’ data.  

Find out more here. 

If a signatory lacks technical and financial resources to prepare its action plan, we recommend them to reach out to the Covenant Coordinators or Supporters in their region/country.  

For technical guidance on the action plan, please consult the guidebook for Covenant signatories developed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre: 

• How to develop a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) 
• How to prepare a greenhouse gas emission inventory 
• How to develop a risk and vulnerability assessment 
• How to develop an energy poverty assessment 
• How to plan mitigation, adaptation and energy poverty actions 
• Financial instruments for mitigation, adaptation and energy poverty actions 

For additional technical guidance on energy poverty, please consult the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub’s publications and digital academy or visit our dedicated webpage.  

A dedicated section of both the EU Covenant of Mayors website and the MyCovenant platform is dedicated to these supporting tools.  

Numerous sources of financing are available at local, regional, and European levels, including local authorities' own resources, local partners' resources, public-private partnerships, municipal, regional and national subsidies. To find out more about European funding opportunities, please visit the Funding opportunitiespage of our website. 

Yes, if the existing strategies, policies and plans fulfil the minimal requirements set in the context of the EU Covenant of Mayors. They need to include the signatory’s commitments and be in line with the EU Covenant of Mayors targets and requirements: i.e. support the EU in reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. 

Plans should include goals and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the given territory, increase resilience and prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change and tackle energy poverty to ensure a just transition towards climate neutrality. A compilation of several documents is also accepted.  

If a Covenant Territorial Coordinator or a Supporter is coordinating the action plans of its associated signatories, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) can carry out a grouped analysis to provide feedback on these action plans. If your organisation has developed a common approach to assist signatories with their action plans, we kindly invite you to contact the EU Covenant of Mayors Helpdesk for Coordinators. 

Please consult our Quick Reference guide on grouped SECAP analysis. 

In line with EU objectives, the EU Covenant of Mayors Office invites signatories to set a long-term climate neutrality target for 2050. Cities should strive to reduce emissions at source as much as possible and by at least 80%. Residual emissions that are impossible or very difficult to abate should be identified through a critical analysis of local emission sources and related mitigation constraints (see guidance on negative emissions for cities). 

Signatories should define at least one mid-term target on the trajectory to climate neutrality by 2050 and may set additional mid-term targets as needed. 

The Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) focuses on the activity sectors under the direct influence of the local authority to quantify the amount of GHG emitted due to energy consumption. The BEI is not meant to be exhaustive. It mainly focuses on the emissions from final energy consumption in the EU Covenant key sectors of activity. The BEI shows the emissions in the baseline year (the reference year for setting your target and plan development) in order to identify the actions necessary to reach the emission reduction target. 

The Baseline Emission Inventory serves, along with the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, as the starting point for the development of the action plan. 

Further information on how to develop a baseline emission inventory is available here. 

MyCovenant offers the possibility to EU signatories to report either a “full” (detailed dataset) or a “summary” (simplified dataset) emission inventory. Signatories which are also part of the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities report a Mission City-specific emission inventory. To find out more, please check our guidelines for reporting. 

The Covenant key mitigation sectors are:  

1. Municipal buildings, equipment/facilities; 
2. Tertiary (non-municipal) buildings, equipment/facilities  
3. Residential buildings  
4. Transport. 

A signatory should report data for at least three out of these four key sectors in the Baseline Emission Inventory. Data for additional sectors can be reported optionally. 

To prepare their Baseline Emission Inventory, signatories can get support and find relevant data from Regional Emission Observatories or from their national authorities. They can also collect data using a bottom-up approach including data from energy bills, reaching out to energy providers, and by conducting surveys aimed to inhabitants and businesses, and calculating the amount of fuel sold for the transport sector. Signatories can also reach out to Covenant Coordinators and Local and Regional Energy Agencies that collect useful data for the local emissions inventories.  

Further information on how to collect data can be found here.

A Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) determines the nature and extent of risk by analysing potential hazards and assessing vulnerability that could pose a potential threat or harm to people, property, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend.   

The Risk and Vulnerability Assessment serves, along with the Baseline Emission Inventory, as a starting point for the development of the action plan. It is an integral part of your action plan in MyCovenant. It needs to be submitted in the same stage as the action plan (i.e. within 2 years of joining the initiative), while updated information shall be reported at the monitoring stage (i.e. using the monitoring template in MyCovenant). 

The RVA in the EU Covenant framework focuses on identifying and assessing the most relevant climate hazards and vulnerable sectors. Optionally, adaptive capacity and vulnerable population groups could also be identified and assessed in this analysis.  

Further details on how to develop a risk and vulnerability assessment here. 

You should select at least one sector per each climate hazards identified.  

The pre-defined sectors within MyCovenant are buildings, transport, energy, water, waste, land use, agriculture, biodiversity, health, civil protection, tourism, education, ICT.  

Find out more here.  

The Urban Adaptation Support Tool developed by the European Environment Agency and the EU Covenant of Mayors Office provides local authorities guidance on the entire adaptation cycle, including assessing risks and vulnerabilities. It includes references to useful resources, such as reports, tools, case studies. 

You can find the Urban Adaptation Support Tool here.  

Please note, this tool is in the process of being merged with the Regional Adaptation Support tool (RAST), which has been developed as part of the EU Mission on Adaptation. As such, until the merge is completed in 2027, the RAST provides the most updated resources to support adaptation efforts. 

The Energy Poverty Assessment assists in defining the state of energy poverty in your local authority. It is an integral part of your action plan in MyCovenant, along with the Emission Inventory and the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment. The Energy Poverty Assessment offers to choose from a variety of indicators in several macro areas: climate, facilities/housing, mobility, socio-economic aspects, policy and regulatory framework, participation/awareness-raising. Each indicator can be further defined by selecting a base year and current level, either at a household or person level. Signatories are free to select as many indicators as they like and use them to monitor progress. 

The Energy Poverty Assessment needs to be submitted in the same stage as the action plan (i.e. within 2 years of joining the initiative). 

Further information on how to develop an energy poverty assessment here.  

The Energy Poverty Advisory Hub, as the leading EU initiative on energy poverty, provides extensive knowledge and capacity building on energy poverty and their Helpdesk can be of assistance for any questions on the topic.   

A series of handbooks have been produced to support cities in tackling energy poverty. 

The JRC data catalogue is an open database where you can find an inventory of data produced by the JRC in accordance with the JRC Data Policy. It provides a central overview of data produced by the JRC that can be shared with the public. The content is continuously updated and should not be considered a complete inventory of JRC data. 

After logging into MyCovenant, open a new monitoring template through the dedicated button in your dashboard. Enter the Reporting Corner to edit the data. It is necessary to complete and, if applicable, adjust the content of the 3 main sections (fields in green are mandatory). Click on “submit” to officially submit your monitoring template. A preliminary checking system of the template will allow the detection of errors. 

Please note that the monitoring report template has additional fields of information compared to the action plan template. Consult the Covenant Reporting guidelines to learn more.  

The EU Covenant Office provides different kind of peer learning opportunities to the European CoM-munity through:   

• Online and offline capacity-building activities both at the European and national level. These workshops and webinars offer opportunities to learn from peers, get inspired by successful actions, and brainstorm solutions to common challenges; 
• Online resources and publications with the latest relevant information to support cities, including on funding and financing opportunities; 
• Facilitate knowledge transfer and achievement of the EU Covenant targets at local level via a series of peer learning exchanges with other cities and regions (Covenant peer learning programme).