On September 20, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The declaration on Polotsk's accession to the Covenant of Mayors will be signed in Friedrichshafen on September 27, Alexander Poznyak, Chairman of the Polotsk City Executive Committee, informed BELTA correspondent. Thus, Polotsk will become the first Belarusian city to undertake commitments to implement the EU strategy known as "20-20-20". The strategy aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20%, increase the share of alternative energy sources to 20%, and improve energy efficiency by 20% by 2020. "Joining the Covenant of Mayors will open up access for Polotsk to European innovative energy-saving technologies, expand the scientific and technical potential of the oldest Belarusian city, and help establish partnerships with other signatories of the Covenant of Mayors," Alexander Poznyak is convinced. The first step towards achieving the goal will be the implementation of the Sustainable Energy Development Plan for Polotsk within the framework of the project "Sustainable Energy Development in Cities of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument - Towards the Covenant of Mayors". A group of international experts from the Spanish company "Bionet" and the Institute of Energy of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus worked on creating the plan. Based on the analysis of the current situation in energy consumption and energy saving, and the results of energy audits of 10 Polotsk facilities conducted by specialists from the Institute of Energy of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Spanish specialists proposed a plan for the city to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by 2020 through the implementation of measures to reduce consumption and promote the use of renewable energy sources in the city. In particular, energy-saving measures are proposed for public and residential buildings, the city lighting system, municipal and private transport, and utility enterprises. In addition, experts have proposed wider use of local and renewable energy sources for electricity generation. As Alexander Poznyak reported, the pilot project of the sustainable energy development plan will be the installation of energy-saving lamps on Frantsisk Skorina Avenue, and possibly, energy-saving traffic lights will appear in the city later. Another key area, as advised by the experts, will be the development of alternative energy sources.