TALA / Strategic Objectives
Transition Action for Local Authorities: IMPACT on Heating & Cooling
The TALA project equips local and regional energy authorities with data-driven tools, strategic capacity, and financing frameworks to accelerate urban thermal energy transitions across Central and Southeastern Europe.
By targeting 5 pilot capital cities, Zagreb, Budapest, Bucharest, Skopje, and Podgorica, the initiative bridges the gap between high-level European climate targets and concrete local infrastructure investments.
1. Capacity building for Energy Agencies & Local and Regional Authorities
To build sustainable, long-term expertise in urban Heating & Cooling (H&C) planning, TALA will:
- Train Local Personnel: Train at least 5 municipal and energy agency staff per pilot city during the project lifecycle, scaling to 200+ trained experts within five years post-project.
- Establish One-Stop Shops: Set up 5 reinforced H&C Support Units to act as local technical hubs for planning, infrastructure mapping, and project facilitation.
2. Development of 5 capital city Heating and Cooling Plans
TALA will deliver fully developed and officially endorsed H&C Plans across all five capital cities:
- Comprehensive Methodologies: Each plan will include a baseline demand assessment, scenario modelling, an action roadmap, and a financing strategy.
3. Regional replication and upscaling across Europe
To act as a regional lighthouse and scale impact beyond the pilot cities, the project will:
- Direct Replication: Launch active replication initiatives in 5 additional European cities during the project (one per partner country).
- Open-Access H&C Toolkit: Disseminate a standardised, open-access methodology to enable adoption across at least 20 further European municipalities by 2030.
4. Alignment with broader national and EU climate strategies
To ensure regulatory compliance and policy integration, all five H&C Plans will be:
- SECAP & NECP Integration: Formally harmonised with local Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) and National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs).
- Policy Alignment: Linked directly to at least one national policy, framework, or funding programme in each participating country.
5. Securing financing and policy support
To turn energy planning into secure infrastructure projects, TALA aims to:
- Early Investment Commitments: Secure commitments for at least €30 million in earmarked investments by the project’s end.
- Long-Term Capital Pipeline: Build a structured investment pipeline targeting €200 million in energy infrastructure within five years.
Project Contact
Carmen Liu
Communications Officer
Team Members
Senior Project Officer
