The municipality of Chisinau by 2020 must reduce carbon emissions and the heat consumption costs at local level by 20% and to increase the consumption of energy from renewable sources also by 20%, as stipulated in the Sustainable Energy Action Plan. The feasibility studies are now being finished. They were presented in a news conference on January 29, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Action Plan was worked out within the project “Increasing energy efficiency of Chisinau and Sevastopol municipalities based on existing positive experience” that is co-financed by the European Union through the CIUDAD (Cooperation in Urban Development and Dialogue) Program. The measures will be implemented mainly in such areas as private public transport, public lighting, and thermal insulation of apartment buildings. Mayor General of Chisinau Dorin Chirtoaca said the Sustainable Energy Action Plan is very ambitious. “A number of schools already had their windows changed and were thermally insulated. More such activities are to be carried out by 2020 so as to reduce the costs and even save energy as this segment accounts for the largest part of the local budget spending,” he stated. Attending the event, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Dirk Schuebel said that Moldova has a great energy potential, but also the largest consumption of energy per capita in Europe. The project initiated together with the Chisinau City Hall costs €660,000, 80% of which represent the EU’s contribution, while the rest the contribution of the local authorities. According to the official, the project aims to optimize energy consumption and to find energy alternatives. CIUDAD Program representative Jan Edwin Waanders said the project implemented in Chisinau produced more results than expected initially. The Sevastopol municipality presented only the method of developing the energy strategy, while Chisinau developed a plan of action for increasing energy efficiency. The Sustainable Energy Action Plan is a mandatory document for the signatories of the Covenant of Mayors, which the municipality of Chisinau joined in November 2011.