Almada, Portugal
The Almada Less Carbon Climate Fund becomes revolving!
In 2009 the city of Almada set up the “Almada Less Carbon
Climate Fund” which aims at reducing Almada’s carbon footprint by
financing energy efficiency and renewable energy investments. After
first seven years of successful operation, the Fund is now being
redesigned and upgraded - it will become a revolving fund.
Almada’s Local Development Strategy has been framing the local
activity for the last three decades. Each decade has been devoted to a
particular topic related to the local needs and reality of the moment.
Currently, Almada City Council is focused on ensuring high environmental
quality of its activities, using natural resources efficiently and
promoting energy efficiency to foster energy transition leading to a low
carbon city. Its motto: “Almada+: Sustainability, Solidarity and
Eco-Efficiency”.
The Local Development Strategy comprises a number of initiatives,
including setting up of the “Almada Less Carbon Climate Fund” in 2009,
which aims at reducing Almada’s carbon footprint by financing energy
efficiency and renewable energy investments.
The Almada Less Carbon Climate Fund is a voluntary financial scheme
supported by a simple economic valuation of the carbon emissions
generated by the City Council’s regular activities. The Fund ensures
that costs associated with carbon emissions are internalised and
contribute to their compensation.
Almada has been successfully using the Fund to increase the number of
energy efficiency investments that result in a clear net financial
benefit for the municipality. Additional benefits include improved
resource efficiency, lower energy bills and management costs as well as
enhanced local green economy activities. The Fund also complements
national and European funding sources.
After first seven years of successful operation, the Fund is now
being redesigned and upgraded - it will become a revolving fund. This
means that the cost savings resulting from implemented energy efficiency
measures will directly return to the Fund, ensuring leverage of the
fund and boosting further investments in a clean energy transition.
The revolving Fund operation will be based the following pillars:
- Internal procedure which includes
energy bill analysis, energy audit, agreement on measure
implementation, investment and annual monitoring. The procedure was
defined by the core group - Climate, Environment and Mobility
Department, Financial Department, Planning and Studies Division, Assets
Division and AGENEAL - based on the revolving methodology.
- Internal performance contract
which includes an energy savings index, the benefits sharing scheme
dependent on the type of measure, the term of the financial flows and
the definition of the no compliance procedure. The contract is signed
between the fund managers (Climate, Environment and Mobility Department
and the Financial Department) and the beneficiary department (any
department of the municipality).
- “Shared benefits approach”
in which the “client department” gets part of the savings as a bonus to
its annual budget. This approach ensures the motivation of all city
departments to participate in the Fund activities. Energy cost savings
are monitored and centralized by the financial department which pays to
the client department.
Useful materials
| Almada at a glance |
Located on the south bank of the Tagus River
across from Lisbon, Almada is one of 18 municipalities within the Lisbon
Metropolitan Region, with 174,030 residents living in an area of 72
km2. Almada City Council has been developing policies and strategies
towards a more sustainable city launching several projects aiming at
promoting public transport and soft modes, like a light rail system and
cycling, energy efficiency in municipal buildings and facilities and
public lighting.
Along these lines, the Municipality of Almada was among the first
signatories of the Covenant of Mayors. The Almada Local Strategy for
Climate Change contains a number of actions targeted at reducing the
energy consumption of buildings and transport sector. To support these
actions the Almada’s Carbon Fund “Almada Less Carbon”, was created in
2009. It supports local energy efficiency investments, serving as a
benchmarking instrument for the actions of other key players in the
mitigation of GHG emissions, whether from the public or private sector.
The municipality is also a member of European and international
associations and initiatives such as Energy Cities, ICLEI, the Mexico
City Pact, Covenant of Mayors and World Mayors Council on Climate
Change. |
| Who is implementing the intracting financing scheme in Almada? |
Core team |
| How is the financing scheme implemented? |
Local Study & Action Plan
Business Model |
| Who backs the scheme at the political level? |
City Council Decision on the establishment of the financing scheme |
| Training materials (in Portuguese) |
Presentation on Almada’s Fund
Information sheet on Almada’s Fund |
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More information about Almada
