Last month the British public broadcaster BBC put a 5-minute report on its website about the East Flemish town of Eeklo. The town is cited as an example in the fields of sustainability and climate policy. Eeklo is seen as a pioneer when it comes to wind turbines.
Eeklo
BBC makes online report about wind turbines and climate policy in East Flemish town
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In April a BBC film crew went to Eeklo. During their 3-day visit there the BBC team filmed various aspects of climate policy in the East Flemish town. The British public broadcaster came to Eeklo via the town’s former alderman Bob D'Haeseleer. Mr D'Haeseleer currently works as a Climate Neutral City Advisor for a network of European cities. On behalf of the European Commission, he supervises 100 cities that aim to be climate neutral by 2030.
He told VRT News that he is very pleased that the BBC came to film in Eeklo. "This is the result of years of teamwork sharing our experience at guest lectures, conferences and during visits and also of the commitment of civil servants and Ecopower that built the very first wind turbine in Eeklo. The fact that I now have a network of contacts across European means that I am able to spread Eeklo’s story far and wide."
Ms D'Haeseleer says that Eeklo is an example of a strong climate policy being implemented without the having to investment large sums of public money.
"Everyone knows about our wind turbines, but if you can demonstrate with a project such as POWER UP (with which Eeklo tackles energy poverty among vulnerable families) that a wind turbine also means an average saving of 230 euro/annum on the family budget, then you simply have a very strong story to tell. The essence of good climate policy is to translate CO2 into euro."
The BBC's report about Eeklo went online last month.