There are two LC Districts partners based in the region of Navarre – the Navarra Government (our lead partner) and Nasuvinsa, public corporation of housing and urban development. Their goal in the project is to build a well-designed network that should serve as a unique reference in the region to support all efforts aimed at low-energy buildings. All private and public organizations pursuing this aim should be involved and work together to develop a methodology to facilitate the transition.
Navarre is an autonomous community and province in northern Spain with over 650000 inhabitants. The capital of the region is Pamplona, where both our Spanish project partners are based. Navarre is one of the wealthiest regions in Spain and its people are very concerned about environmental protection and nature conservation. Residents are paying attention to responsible water consumption, keeping nature clean, promoting cleaner modes of transport, and sorting and recycling waste. More importantly, the region has been a pioneer in the production of renewable energy, establishing major wind and solar energy businesses in the region.
However, there is little awareness of the high percentage of CO2 emissions that the sector represents. There is also a lack of knowledge on how to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Although public authorities are firmly committed to achieving the transition to a low-carbon economy and several local and regional measures have already been taken, the current approach is unfortunately still inadequate and uncoordinated.
In the first semester of the LC Districts project, our Spanish partners have already met key stakeholders and agreed that the biggest problems in the region are the lack of public awareness, the lack of a strategic and coordinated vision of the authorities and the lack of financial mechanisms to support the work. For this reason, their main objective of the project is to build a well-designed network in which all stakeholders can participate to develop a methodology to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Navarre is very active in the transition to a low-carbon economy; LC Districts is not the only project in which the region participates. Many local initiatives are involved in other European projects (such as POTENT, SustaiNAVility or LIFE NAdapta). In addition, the region has a strong public support framework for both energy efficiency in buildings and renewable energy sources.
