Political aspects

The chapter Policy, political and administrative aspects of ESC takes a closer look at the political characteristics of ESC, the decision-makers responsible for the planning and execution of the programme, and the relevant policies for the development of an ESC programme. It establishes the following facts: success of an Energy Sustainable Community (ESC) depends at its beginning on the quality of the leadership that develops and conducts the ESC programme, the human skill to be able to communicate the objectives of the ESC programme to the general public, the cooperation with other groups of interest in the definition and implementation of the ESC programmes, and on the availability of a high-quality ESC programme comprising some essential components, among others basic guidelines of the energy policy, the definition of goals, and the presentation of strategies to reach those goals.
Even before targets are identified a list of regional energy actors must be created. The actors identified in the list should be able to provide the first input, i.e. basic information about the energy situation in the region. The ultimate aim though is to encourage these actors to participate in the development of ESC. The guide identifies a range of possible actors and it stresses that these actors interact bilaterally as well as multilaterally among themselves. Participation and support from as many actors as possible is thus a necessary precondition for the development of ESC.
Priorities and targets are important and they should be identified at an early stage, too. In other words the question “what does the community want to achieve?” must be answered and reflection upon it should result in an energy vision for the community. Both priorities and targets are vital for the development process of ESC. They pave the way for a community strategy and they help to achieve goals. Targets can also help stimulate the achievement of priorities and encourage innovation. In combination with targets a concrete timetable must be written down and a set of measures must be agreed upon. The legal framework and support systems are important, too. The putting into practice of the sustainability principle should not be seen as more costly and burdensome than the business-as-usual scenario. More information on European legislation from the very beginning up until today, and national frameworks can be found in the chapter.
The mobilisation of the public through the organisation of awareness-raising and information campaigns is an activity that should be scheduled at a later stage. It is of high importance to involve the public though. Information on the planned actions, renewable energy sources (RES) and the concept of sustainability should be made widely available since the uptake of RES technologies at the local level is highly desirable. Capacity building means looking for additional possible partners such as energy agencies, and or local development agencies.
Additional elements, such as the measurement of the technical potential, are being identified within this chapter, too.

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