Tandem

French-German cooperation for local energy transition

About

Funding program

EUKI

Coordinator

Energy Cities

Klima-Bündnis

Partners
KEA (Energy and Climate protection Agency of Bade-Wurtemberg), the French-German Institute (dfi), ADEME, Umwelt Bundesamt

Since 2014, the TANDEM project has supported the formation of Franco-German partnerships for climate protection. Influenced by political decisions in both countries, many municipal actors then expressed their wish to tackle the challenges of the energy transition / Energiewende together. In cooperation projects at the municipal level they seek solutions through an exchange of knowledge and experience.

How does a TANDEM partnership look like?

In concrete terms, a TANDEM partnership works as follows: first and foremost, there is the exchange of experience and knowledge between the partners on both sides of the Rhine. In addition, joint projects are implemented, such as school projects (construction of models for thermal insulation, wind turbines, installation of photovoltaic panels), thermographic walks, a Franco-German escape game on the subject of adaptation to climate change, the comparison of renovation and urban development strategies or an energy advisory bus.

Franco-German Energy Transition Week

To deepen the Franco-German exchange, the TANDEM initiative has initiated the Franco-German Energy Transition Week in 2019. During one week in January 2019, participating cities from France and Germany jointly conducted large-scale, easy-to-implement and successful climate protection campaigns. The event was repeated in 2021.

TANDEM objectives

  • provide improved mutual understanding of the situation, challenges and framework of climate and energy policies;
  • encourage exchanges on the obstacles and leverages impeding or fostering the attainment of ambitious energy and climate objectives and encourage knowledge transfer;
  • boost close cooperation between local authorities from both countries, involving local stakeholders and citizens;
  • relay local authorities’ claims and concerns at both national and European levels, aimed at providing them with greater latitude and freedom of action.

The TANDEM projects and the German-French Energy Transition Week have so far been coordinated and implemented by the city networks Energy Cities and Climate Alliance and have been funded by the German Ministry of the Environment (BMU) and ADEME. The public funding of Franco-German projects on climate protection reflects the motivation and commitment of the actors involved.