Climate change at the local level

by Tadas Metelionis, Vilija Guzyte and Algirdas Vaitiekunas

Kaunas is involved in a number of projects with the aim to prevent the negative effects of the climate change and to cope with the living in the changing environment.

Since 2005, Kaunas is part of SESAC project - Sustainable Energy Systems in Advanced Cities. The project, uniting 19 partners from many European countries, will finish in 2010, and its main aim is to analyze the experience and best practice of project partners in activities related to sustainable development. Kaunas also takes part in the international project "Energie-Cites" to search for new experience and best practice that have already been explored by other partners.

The aim is to promote the achievements of Kaunas all over Europe, to gain help in the preparation of projects, to participate in projects co-financed by the European Commission, to get updated information on various programmes. Kaunas is the only city in Lithuania and the Baltic States that is a real member of this association, actively participating in various seminars, conferences, meetings.

Additionally, Kaunas takes part in the European Energy Award EEA* project seeking to use energy in an effective way and increasing the usage of renewable energy sources.

The expected results from this project are the effective planning and implementation of energy means, the distribution of successful results. In 2005, Kaunas was officially granted the European Energy Award.

Through the BUSTRIP project children in Kaunas create a School Travel Plan promoting a safer journey to school. The city began working with two suburb schools to help improve the students' journey to school. The School Travel Plan project yielded many achievements including a grant for a school exchange programme between Kaunas and Spyken School in Lund, Sweden.