19th edition

Rubí shared its experiences of developing actions in favour of the energy transition, in the framework of the 19th European Week of Regions and Cities. Mayor Ana María Martínez Martínez took part in the online seminar Small places matter: governance and the green transition, dedicated to the role played by small cities and towns in developing more sustainable territories.
   

   
Small places matter is a pilot project framed within the Territorial Agenda 2030, a strategic policy document that places the territory and its ordinances as key factors in attaining a more cohesive, fairer and greener Europe. The seminar broached this topic, as well as a series of good cooperation practices between the public sector, private sector and stakeholders in promoting the green transition locally in small and mid-sized cities, rural areas and border regions. Rubí’s mayor gave a speech, next to a representative from the Lappeenranta City Council, a Finnish city with which it has embarked on a joint path to achieve the goals of the European Green Deal.

During her talk, the mayor reminded everyone of how far Rubí has come since 2011, with the addition of the Mayors Accord and starting up the Rubí Brilla (Rubí Shines) project. She also repeated the city’s commitment to the objective established by the European Commission of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 55% by the year 2030.

Martínez also highlighted several recent actions:

• The aggregated energy purchase group, leading to 62 companies and businesses saving between 15 and 20% on their bills.
• The Self-consumption 0/0 project, which has 22 participating companies now for its second edition.
• The collaboration agreement with the cooperative Som Mobilitat, which fosters the shared us of electric vehicles in the city.
• The project to install solar panels in municipal buildings that –besides reducing the administration’s financial and environmental costs– also enables surplus energy to be allocated to the most vulnerable members of society.

The mayor took advantage of her presentation to highlight the Youth/Green ImPACT project, which has brought the European Green Deal to Rubí’s youth throughout 2021, creating places for direct dialogue with the local administration and European institutions.