Not all communities in Europe are affected equally by energy transition. As Europe progresses toward its goal of being the first climate-neutral continent, EU coal, peat and oil shale regions (“coal+ regions”) need unique support and resources to be able to face the disproportionate challenges that transition poses for them. What’s more, with adequate support, coal+ regions can not only survive the energy transition, but can thrive, benefiting from the new opportunities that transition brings.

To this end, coal+ regions are now able to apply to receive expert technical assistance from the European Commission’s Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition and its START programme. All information and application forms are available on the START webpage.

START – which stands for Secretariat Technical Assistance to Regions in Transition – provides tailored support over 6-10 months to assist with efforts to decarbonise energy production and usage, diversify economic activities, and progress social development in regions heavily affected by the transition away from fossil fuels. This assistance can build local capacity in areas like: transition strategy development, governance, stakeholder consultation and engagement, community cohesion and resilience, and project identification and assessment.

Typical applicants are public administrations or civil society organisations, and applications from smaller regional actors like municipalities are particularly welcome. In other words, this is an excellent opportunity for ICLEI Members that are working to ensure that transition is just for all their communities!

The START application form, application guidelines, a one-page Summary Document (available in nine languages), and information about previous START recipients are all available now.

The Coal Regions in Transition Initiative is also offering short, bilateral meetings for potential applicants to discuss their ideas, needs and other questions with senior members of the START team. Those who are interested can schedule online or in-person (in Brussels) START meetings here.

ICLEI Europe supports this work as one of a consortium of organisations who run the Initiative for Coal Regions in Transition secretariat.

For more information about the START programme and how to apply, click here. The deadline to submit your application for START support is 16 December 2022.