Across the Black Sea Basin region, cities and regions are facing increasing pressure from climate change. Rising temperatures, energy inefficiencies, growing waste volumes, and urban transport emissions are no longer abstract environmental concerns — they are daily realities affecting local communities.
Yet many municipalities, especially small and medium-sized ones, face a fundamental challenge: how to turn climate ambition into practical, implementable plans.
This challenge became the starting point of the STEP2CleanPlan project — Cooperation for Sustainable Energy and Climate Actions’ Planning and Monitoring in the Black Sea Basin (BSB).
Although national climate adaptation plans and EU strategies are in place, local authorities often lack technical expertise to translate policy into local action, structured methodologies for planning and monitoring, tools to measure carbon footprint and energy performance, opportunities to exchange knowledge with neighbouring countries facing similar challenges
In Türkiye, Greece, and Bulgaria, municipalities and regional authorities needed support not only to understand climate adaptation — but to implement it effectively.
Key sectoral challenges included:
- Urban transport systems contributing significantly to emissions
- Waste management systems with increasing carbon impact
- Aging public infrastructure with high energy consumption
- Limited institutional coordination across departments and regions
The issue was not a lack of commitment — but a lack of structured capacity and cross-border learning opportunities.
STEP2CleanPlan introduced a simple yet powerful solution: combining joint expertise, structured mentoring, and practical local planning frameworks.
The project delivered several key solutions:
1. Joint Guide for Policymakers; a practical handbook offering tools, methodologies, and best practices for sustainable energy and climate adaptation planning.
2. Transnational Mentoring Programme; a long-term, structured training programme implemented in Türkiye, Greece, and Bulgaria, enabling municipal staff to apply climate planning tools directly to their local contexts.
3. Concrete Local Planning Frameworks; the project supported local and regional authorities through tailored, realistic, and operational plans, including:
- A Climate Neutral Urban Mobility Plan in Uzunköprü (Türkiye)
- An Organic Waste Management and Carbon Footprint Reduction Plan in Kalamaria (Greece)
- A 10-year Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Programme for the Burgas Region (Bulgaria)
- A Sustainable Urban Mobility Strategy Framework for the Municipality of Byala (Bulgaria)
A defining strength of STEP2CleanPlan lies in its collaborative, cross-border approach. Instead of working in isolation, project partners jointly analysed existing planning systems across the three countries, compared national policy frameworks, shared technical knowledge through a joint expert group using co-developed methodologies, tested tools in diverse administrative contexts.
One of the project’s most important achievements is the strengthening of cross-border institutional trust and cooperation networks. Through this collaboration, partner organisations enhanced their technical expertise in climate adaptation and mitigation planning, improved internal coordination through joint capacity-building activities and built a durable international network involving institutions and stakeholders.
Today, the region benefits from tested methodologies, trained professionals, and a functioning cross-border network ready to scale up climate action.
STEP2CleanPlan has not only delivered practical results — it has also laid a solid foundation for continued cooperation and future initiatives in sustainable energy and climate planning.