City of Riga | Riga Municipal Agency “Riga Energy Agency”
Rīgas dome | Rīgas pašvaldības aģentūra “Rīgas enerģētikas aģentūra”
Riga Municipal Agency “Riga Energy Agency” (REA), established by the Riga City Council, is the first local energy agency in Latvia. REA is an independent, non-profit municipal institution, founded in 2007 for the purpose to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate sustainable energy supply and consumption in the City of Riga, promote energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, enhance shift to sustainable transport modes and solutions, promote energy efficient renovation of city’s housing stock and public buildings, as well as, to raise awareness amongst the local population on energy efficiency issues and ensure public awareness and public involvement within its core activities. REA represents the City of Riga and takes an active part in such European networks as the “Local Governments for Sustainability” (ICLEI), “Energy Cities”, “European Association for Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Electromobility in European Regions” (HyER), ManagEnergy, the “Union of the Baltic Cities” (UBC), EUROCITIES, WHO “Healthy Cities Network” and many other.
City of Riga was one of the first European capitals to sign the Covenant of Mayors already in 2008. Through cooperating with other EU cities in the implementation of numerous energy efficiency projects, Riga has been able to introduce new innovative technologies that add to citizen’s comfort and make their lives more sustainable. Riga has a strong commitment to bringing our city closer to a smart city’s status. Riga is a very active player in addressing EU policies and targets – even going beyond the National government, amongst them, on energy, climate & environment issues, and in engaging and motivating various stakeholders including businesses, universities, civil society organisations, NGOs and energy suppliers to learn and share the expertise in Latvia, as well as beyond its borders.
On ordinance of the Mayor of Riga, REA represents the city of Riga in the ATELIER project. Participation in this project enables City of Riga to develop a “Bold City Vision 2050” for guiding the city’s energy transition challenges, and to integrate the vision in urban planning processes at all levels, among other, to update city’s SEAP-2020 to SECAP-2030, as well as to build the community of local stakeholders willing to engage in smart transformation processes. Participation of Riga city in the ATELIER project is a win-win-win situation, as the city and our local stakeholders are gaining from acquiring new knowledge, skills and practices, whilst our consortium partners – from exploring Riga as captivating and inspiring peer.