The city of Merano has been recognised as a "ComuneClima" (Climate Municipality) with a Silver rating since 2020 and now aims to achieve a gold certification.
In recent years, the administration has continued to work with the aim of improving and obtaining the gold plaque. Recently, an audit was held in the town hall to assess the measures taken by the municipality with this in mind. The outcome of the review will be announced in the autumn of 2024.
In 2017, the CasaClima Agency awarded the first South Tyrolean municipalities the "ComuneClima" certification. Among the seven awarded local administrations was Merano, which obtained - like the other "winners" - the bronze plaque. Merano achieved 47.6% of the maximum score that can be obtained in the six different sectors (Territorial development and urban planning, Municipal buildings and systems, Procurement and disposal, Mobility, Internal organization, Communication and cooperation). In 2020, the municipality was awarded a score of 66.6%, which earned it the silver plaque.
On Wednesday 16th of July, the audit to verify the various and numerous measures implemented in recent years by the municipal administration to contribute to achieving the climate objectives set for 2030 and 2040 took place in the town hall - in the presence of technicians from the South Tyrol Energy Agency/CasaClima, the EEA (European Energy Awards), as well as members of the Special Unit for Climate Protection and Adaptation to Climate Change of the Municipality of Merano.
Goal: Gold certification
The outcome of the audit will be announced on November 28th in Bolzano. Deputy Mayor and Environment Councillor Katharina Zeller is confident. "We are aiming for the gold ComuneClima certification. To achieve this goal, the municipal administration has been strongly committed in recent years on several fronts: from mobility (20 new charging stations for electric vehicles, conversion of the municipal car fleet, installation of 450 new bracket racks for bicycles as well as 24 bike boxes, assignment of 82 electric bicycles to fellow citizens as part of the ebike2work project), from the de-sealing of urban land (car park of the Maia Bassa railway station, via Plankenstein, via XXIV Maggio, via Innerhofer) to the development of guidelines for the design of greenery, from tree replanting (over 330 from 2023 to today, compared to a total of 110 fellings) to the survey of the tree heritage to investigate the benefit of greenery on the city's microclimate, from the strengthening of the Pedibus to the cube-cutting of pedestrian paths (via Ruscello, vicolo Passiria) and the monitoring of heat islands. Not forgetting the awareness campaigns and photovoltaic consultancy services aimed at private individuals, companies and hotels", declared Zeller.
In addition to Deputy Mayor Zeller, the audit was also attended by councilors Stefan Frötscher and Marco Perbellini, the director of the building and technical services department Wolfram Haymo Pardatscher, the head of the Green Management and Environment Service Marco Masin, Thalia Meyer, EEA international auditor, Chiara Tavella, EEA national auditor, Mariadonata Bancher of the CasaClima Agency, Oliver Irsara, the energy & climate manager of the Municipality of Merano, Emilio Vettori, the consultant of the ComuneClima of Merano, the coordinator of the HORIZON2020/JUSTNature project Ruth Lochmann and Martin Verdorfer of the Special Mobility Unit.
The ComuneClima program
The ComuneClima program is an initiative promoted by the South Tyrol Energy Agency - CasaClima with the aim of supporting municipalities and the province in achieving their climate protection objectives. Among the factors that are taken into consideration are the actions undertaken directly by the municipality, for example to induce citizens to upgrade their homes in terms of energy efficiency or to build less energy-intensive homes. The certification initiative aims to valorize administrations that are committed to acting as a model and setting a good example for citizens.
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You can read the original press release in Italian and German.
