As energy costs continue to rise and the need to fight climate change is becoming ever more pressing, more than a hundred cities in Europe are running sustainable energy use strategies based on the concept of "shining examples", joint action and shared experiences. The BELIEF project encourages all European local authorities, especially urban communities, to form "Sustainable Energy Communities" to improve local policy making, promote energy citizenship and stimulate the markets for sustainable energy. This report was filmed in two urban communities participating in BELIEF: the city of Dunkirk in France, and the city of Heidelberg in Germany. We met the people behind some of the many initiatives taken in these cities. In Heidelberg, Mayor Eckart Würzner presents the city's new fire station, a low-energy "passive house" standard building, and the venue of a recent Citizens’ Festival with more than 10,000 visitors. This part of the video features also a transport company using green management techniques, a school providing sustainable energy classes, and citizens who have renovated their homes to allow them using green energy, The urban community of Greater Dunkirk shot thermal infrared images of the whole city from the air. Every citizen can consult these photos, which show just how much heat is lost from poorly insulated roofs of their buildings. We also spoke to a hotel-keeper who invested in solar panels and encouraged his peers from the region to do the same. This video report demonstrates the effectiveness of a citizen-to-citizen communication campaign. Energie-Cités, the association of European local authorities promoting sustainable local energy policies, will organise the BELIEF final conference in Cork, Ireland, on 9 April 2008 as part of the association's 13th annual meeting. The event will help European cities to share their success stories and prepare the ground for a more sustainable energy future. Interviews: Dr. Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg
Frédérick Mabille, Director of Energy, Urban Community of Dunkirk
Marc Ducrocq, General Manager, Ibis Hotel, Dunkirk
Marlene Bohne-Becker, Headmistress, Albert-Schweitzer-Schule
Rudolf Frühauf, Mona's father
Thomas BECK, General manager , FELS
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