Impact evaluation of the Macedonia municipal climate change strategies integration pilot : municipal pilot project mini case studies

The studies evaluate the first two municipal pilot projects. The NGO Milieukontakt Macedonia (MKM) uses a participatory process called the Green Agenda to carry out these efforts. This includes widespread civic engagement. In one municipality, Pechevo, citizens chose to try to achieve more energy efficiency in public buildings. They installed energy efficient light bulbs in public streets. The study found that this achieved some early benefits and cost savings, such as lower electricity bills. With the savings, the local government plans to pursue other climate-related projects. In Krivogashtani, the project selected was to improve energy efficiency at a school building. The municipality also plans to use the local greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, created at the outset, to assess ways to cut emissions. Evaluators found that both pilots influenced attitudes in the municipalities, with greater engagement and cooperation on actions to address climate change. (ClimateLinks.org abstract)