FAQ

SECAP is the key document which shows how the Covenant signatory will reach its climate vision and target. The plan includes an assessment of the current situation, i.e. a Baseline Emission Inventory for the climate mitigation part and a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment for the adaptation part; clearly identified goals and targets; and the mitigation and adaptation actions planned with time frames, assigned responsibilities and estimated impacts.

Only local governments can join the GCoM as signatories. In order to formalize a commitment to the GCoM, cities and local governments must submit a commitment letter signed by an appropriately mandated official (e.g. Mayor, City Council).  Once a decision to sign up is formally made, local authorities should complete their information online and upload their duly signed form. The date of the council decision is the date that must be indicated as the council deliberation date in the Information and contact form. Local authorities, with a duly signed adhesion form and acceptance, will subsequently be included into the public list of signatories.

• You can find commitment letter template in link: 

  //mlgp4climate.com/mlgp-library/gcom-commitment-letter

• Fill the commitment with required data
• Secure official decision from the municipal council and signature from the mayor.
• Submit the signed commitment letter to the Covenant of Mayors Türkiye:

         TRhelpdesk@globalcovenantofmayors.eu

Note: The Global Covenant of Mayors is a voluntary commitment. Hence the adhesion is fully free of charge.

To transform their commitments into action, local authorities commit to:

• Prepare and submit a Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) that quantifies the CO2 emitted in the signatory's territory.
• Prepare and submit a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA) that measures the level of risk by analyzing potential climate hazards and assessing the vulnerabilities on the signatory’s territory.
• Submit a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP), approved by the municipal council within the described timeframe (two years for SECAPs) following their official decision to join the Covenant of Mayors initiative, which outlines the measures and policies they will implement to achieve their targets.
• Submit regularly - every two years after submission of their action plan - monitoring reports assessing the progress of their action plan.

Please see the Secap Development Guide Book: Case In Turkish Munıcıpalities in the MLGP library. You can access from the links below:

• TR: 

  //mlgp4climate.com/mlgp-library/secap-development-guidebook-turkish

• ENG: 

  //mlgp4climate.com/mlgp-library/secap-development-guidebook-english

SECAP should be developed on the basis of reliable information related to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the territory of local self-government bodies. Due to this, at the initial stage a comprehensive assessment of the current (baseline) situation and structures should be made. The assessment starts with determination of the level of energy consumption in respective sectors of the city’s/town’s economy and development of the Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI), determination of the volume of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission related to energy consumption in the baseline year.

Development of the BEI constitutes an obligatory stage of SECAP preparation and the key aspect in the performance of commitments under the Covenant. The Inventory should be included into the full version of SECAP officially approved by local authorities.

The main characteristics of the BEI are provided below:

• The BEI should reflect local situation, that is should be based on local data on energy consumption/production and other information necessary to prepare the inventory. Assessments and estimations based on national or regional means will not reflect the real situation locally (in the city/town), since in most cases they are characteristic of a specific territory position. The inventory estimated on the basis of such data will also not constitute an important reference point for the assessment of the efficiency of efforts taken by local authorities to achieve their goals in the field of СО2 emission reduction.
• Methodological approaches and sources of the data used in the estimations should not change for several years. That means that the methodology used for the BEI development should also be used for further inventory-making measures to be taken on a regular basis for the sake of monitoring the progress in emission reduction (Emission Inventory Monitoring).
• The BEI should include at least the sectors where the local authorities intend to take measures aimed at achievement of their emission reduction goals, that is the sectors that constitute important sources of СО2 emission.
• The BEI should contain reliable information or at least common-sense vision of reality (that is, if possible, most objectively reflect the current situation).
• The process of input data collection, the sources of data and calculation methodology for the BEI should be duly documented (that can also be done within SECAP, or, at least, the necessary data should be preserved in the local authority’s documents).

Baseline year is the initial year in reference to which CO2 emission should be achieved.

New signatories are recommended to take the latest year as the baseline one, which is the most illustrative in terms of reflection of the current economic situation and for which reliable statistical data can be collected. 

The Baseline Emission Inventory should take into consideration the energy consumed in all sectors of activity.

The Covenant key sectors are the following:

• Municipal buildings, equipment/facilities.
• Tertiary (non-municipal) buildings, equipment/facilities.
• Residential buildings.
• Transport.
• Waste.

The Risk and Vulnerability Assessment is an analysis that determines the nature and extent of risk, by analyzing potential hazards and assessing vulnerability that could pose a potential threat or harm to people, property, livelihoods and the environment on which they depend. It allows the identification of areas of critical concern and therefore provides information for decision-making. The assessment could address risks related to floods, extreme temperatures and heat waves, droughts and water scarcity, storms and other extreme weather events, increased forest fires, sea level rise and coastal erosion (if applicable). The Risk and Vulnerability Assessment serves, along with the Baseline Emission Inventory, as the point of departure for the development of the SECAP.

Mitigation, in the local fight against climate change, is based on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. This is achieved through two main actions: 

• the reduction of the energy demand, 
• the increase in the use of renewables.

These actions define the local climate change mitigation strategy.

The local adaptation to climate change requires a prior analysis of local climate trends and the degree of local resilience, which is reflected in the analysis of risks and vulnerabilities. This analysis will lead to the definition of concrete actions that allow increasing the local resilience to climate change.

The signatories will have to commit to defining actions that address equitable access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy, i.e. to alleviate energy poverty. Energy poverty can be defined as “the lack of access of a household to secure energy services, adequate for its needs and reasonably affordable”. This means the inability of a household to afford heating, cooling, lighting and other energy demanding services. Energy poverty may be caused by low household income, high energy prices, inefficient energy performance in buildings or a combination of all three. 

Monitoring and reporting are important cornerstones of the GCoM initiative. GCoM cities and local governments agree to make data publicly available through regular reporting. This is needed to track the overall progress of the initiative and assess the collective impact of GCoM cities in the fight against climate change.

Currently, there are two officially recognized reporting platforms available for GCoM signatories, both fully aligned with the GCoM Common Reporting Framework requirements:

• CDP-ICLEI Track 
• “MyCovenant” platform

Both reporting platforms regularly offer opportunities to familiarize users with their interfaces. A signatory needs to report only to one of these platforms to fulfill GCoM requirements.

Launched in 2018, the GCoM Common Reporting Framework (CRF) is a standardized set of reporting requirements that apply across all GCOM regional covenants, while allowing for regional flexibility to respond to local circumstances and priorities but also sufficient consistency for global aggregation and comparison of reported data. he CRF is the reference document for GCoM signatories throughout all phases of engagement with the initiative. It ensures robust assessment, target setting, integrated climate action planning and monitoring, as well as streamlined reporting across all three pillars of the initiative. 

There are multiple resources available to help explain the requirements of the CRF for the mitigation and adaptation pillars:  

• Full CRF text –  containing all the requirements, serving as a reference framework in all Regions
• CRF guidance note – providing a more practical interpretation on the use of the CRF. It offers examples and references to help understand and correctly interpret all the requirements and recommendations laid out by the CRF

The Covenant of Mayors reporting templates provide signatories with a structured manner of summarizing the key elements of their action plan and tracking of implementation during the monitoring phase. It has been developed by the Covenant of Mayors Office and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre with the collaboration of a group of practitioners from local and regional authorities.

When signatories submit their action plan document, they are at the same time required to complete an online template available via the EU Covenant website restricted area: ‘My Covenant’ in English. Only after this process is completed, the official submission of the action plan to the Covenant of Mayors takes place. 

For more information on how to use MyCovenant for reporting purposes, please consult the reporting guidelines.  An Excel version of the SECAP template is available in the website library for download. This Excel-based template is an offline working version of the official online template which has to be completed in English and submitted online. Please note that it is not possible to export the data entered in the Excel to the online platform and vice-versa.

One deadline extension can be granted, provided that the signatory duly completes the online delay request form and/or reaches out to the GcoM helpdesk. 

Once your action plan is submitted via the online reporting platform, all the key results of your action plan are automatically displayed in a graphical manner in your signatory profile in the Covenant website.

The action plan is afterwards submitted to an evaluation process carried out by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre if you submit via MyCovenant platform or by CDP if you submit via CDP-ICLEI track, which both will check if the plan fulfils the eligibility criteria and send you a feedback report.

The evaluation process is mainly based on the description encoded in the SECAP online template. Therefore, all signatories should ensure that information filled in the template is well-consistent with their full SECAP document.

The eligibility criteria are the following:

• The action plan must be approved by the Municipal Council or equivalent body.
• The action plan must clearly specify the Covenant mitigation and adaptation commitments.
• The action plan must be based on the results of a comprehensive Baseline Emission Inventory (BEI) and Climate Risk & Vulnerability Assessment (RVA).
• For mitigation, the action plan must cover the key sectors of activity (Municipal, Tertiary, Residential, Transport and Waste).
• The Baseline Emission Inventory must cover at least three out of four key sectors.
• The mitigation actions must cover at least two out of four key sectors.

The signatory will be contacted if the online template is deemed incomplete or if any additional information is needed.

Note: The indicative timeframe for SECAP analysis is six to nine months.

Monitoring and evaluating results is important for following up on the main achievements and for continuously improving your action plan (in case corrective measures are needed). Signatories are committed to regularly submit monitoring reports to show the results achieved at a glance, both in terms of measures implemented and CO2 emissions reduction.

1) Action reporting

Every two years after having submitted their Action Plan, Signatories have to monitor their progress including:

• Report on the implementation status of their actions in qualitative terms (progress, budget and time)
• Update of the Adaptation Scoreboard, The Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and the choice of updating the Adaptation Action Tab.

2) Full reporting

Every four years after having submitted their Action Plan, Signatories have to provide a more quantitative report - the Full reporting, including:

• Monitoring Emission Inventory and quantified outcomes of the actions implemented, such as: energy savings, renewable energy production, CO2 emissions reduction.
• An update of the Adaptation Scoreboard, the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment and a minimum update of 3 key adaptation actions

VALUABLE LINKS

Global Covenant of Mayors: //www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/

European Covenant of Mayors: //eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/en/about 

C40 Cities. Climate Action Planning Framework. //resourcecentre.c40.org/climate-actionplanning-framework-home 

CDP Guidance for Cities. //www.cdp.net/en/guidance/guidancefor-cities 

Chatelet, R. 2018. What is a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) or Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP)?. EU4Energy & Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy CoM East, //com-east.eu/en/faq3/itemlist/category/226-sustainable-energyaction-plan-seap-sustainable-energy-andclimate-action-plan-secap 

CoM, 2018. Covenant Community, Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. //www.covenantofmayors.eu/about/covenant-community/signatories.html

How to Join CoM. //eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/en/join/signatory

How to Join GcoM. //www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/how-to-join/ 

Reporting Guidelines, CoM, March 2020. //eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2022-10/Covenant-reporting-guidelines-EN-final.pdf

MyCovenant template: An offline version of the template in an Excel format, to be used as an internal working document only, is available at //www.covenantofmayors.eu/support/library.html . The only official version of the template is available in MyCovenant. 

Explanatory Note accompanying the Global Covenant of Mayors Common Reporting Framework, Guidance Note, GCoM, April 2019 //www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Data-TWG_Reporting-Framework_GUIDANCE-NOTE.pdf 

Greenhouse Gas Protocol, WRI&WBCSD. //ghgprotocol.org/greenhouse-gas-protocol-accounting-reporting-standard-cities

Guidebook 'How to develop a Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP), JRC112986, //publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC112986 

Guidance for reporting to the GCoM through CDP-ICLEI Track, 2022. //cdn.cdp.net/cdp-production/cms/guidance_docs/pdfs/000/003/476/original/Reporting-Guidance-for-GCoM-EN.pdf?1649177827 

HORIZON EUROPE SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY //ufukavrupa.org.tr/tr/haberler/hatirlatma-sbep-ortakligi-2024-cagrisi-ulusal-bilgi-gunu-kayitlari-devam-ediyor-29-subat  and //www.bluepartnership.eu/  and //ufukavrupa.org.tr/tr/sustainable-blue-economy-partnership  

MFA EU PRESIDENCY PROJECTS: //www.ab.gov.tr/ab-bakanligi-projeleri_46008.html  and //cbc.ab.gov.tr/?lang=en 

Climate Change Adaptation Grant Programme //www.undp.org/turkiye/news/climate-adaptation-action-enhancing-turkey 

CDP-ICLEI Unified Reporting System: //www.cdp.net/en/cities 

ICLEI: //iclei.org/gcom/

Interactive Funding Guide provided by the EU-CoM //eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/en/resources/funding_guide 

INVEST Model. //invest-userguide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html 

Invest4Cities: //www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/city-climate-finance/

Mediterranean Cross-Border Cooperation Program INTERREG NEXT MED //www.ab.gov.tr/akdeniz-havzasinda-sinir-otesi-isbirligi-programi-teklif-cagrisi-duyuruldu_53684.html 

INTERREG IPA Cross-Border Cooperation Program between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Türkiye 2021-2027 //ipa-bgtr.mrrb.bg/  

Black Sea Basin Cross-Border Cooperation Programme: //cbc.ab.gov.tr/karadeniz?lang=en   

IPCC, 2019. 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. //www.ipcc.ch/report/2019-refinementto-the-2006-ipcc-guidelines-for-nationalgreenhouse-gas-inventories/ 

IPCC, 2018. 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). URL: //www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol3.html

IPCC 5th Assessment Report (AR5). //www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar5/ 

IPCC, Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5 ºC. //www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ 

Joint Research Center: //commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/departments-and-executive-agencies/joint-research-centre_en 

Reference Monitoring Guides: EU CoM:        //eu-mayors.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/2022-10/Quick_ref_guide_monitoring.pdf and GCoM:             //www.globalcovenantofmayors.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FINAL_Data-TWG_Reporting-Framework_website_FINAL-13-Sept-2018_for-translation.pdf 

National Inventory Report (NIR) Türkiye. 2019. //unfccc.int/documents/194819 

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National Smart Cities Strategy and Action Plan2024-2030: //www.akillisehirler.gov.tr/

Strengthening Türkiye's Climate Change Adaptation Action            //ipa.gov.tr/turkiyede-iklim-uyum-eyleminin-guclendirilmesi-projesi/ 

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T.C. Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakanlığı, 2018. Ulusal Enerji Verimliliği Eylem Planı 2017-2023 //enerji.gov.tr//Media/Dizin/EVCED/tr/EnerjiVerimlili%C4%9Fi/UlusalEnerjiVerimlili%C4%9FiEylemPlan%C4%B1/Belgeler/UEVEP.pdf 

T.C. Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakanlığı, (2022). Ulusal Enerji Planı 2023-2035 //enerji.gov.tr//Media/Dizin/EIGM/tr/Raporlar/TUEP/T%C3%BCrkiye_Ulusal_Enerji_Plan%C4%B1.pdf 

TOBB Ekonomik Rapor, 2020. //tobb.org.tr/Documents/yayinlar/2021/77ER.pdf 

Turkish National Energy Plan, 2023. //enerji.gov.tr//Media/Dizin/EIGM/tr/Raporlar/TUEP/T%C3%BCrkiye_Ulusal_Enerji_Plan%C4%B1.pdf

Türkiye PMI Carbon Market Development Project            //iklim.gov.tr/pmi-proje 

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UNFCCC, 1998. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. //unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf