In the last decade, one of the priorities of the European Union has been to mitigate climate change. According to the Paris Agreement, the goal is to limit global warming to below 1.5°C or at least below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. However, the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that existing climate change mitigation and adaptation policies are insufficient, and it is likely that the 1.5°C global warming threshold will be reached by the 21st century. Therefore, sustainable planning in municipalities is critical for reducing economic, social, and environmental risks and helping to achieve global goals. However, the transition to climate neutrality must be fair and proportionate to different societal groups and must not promote energy poverty and vulnerability to climate risks. Adaptation to climate change is a relatively new concept in municipal planning, especially in countries that have not been affected by climate disasters with serious consequences. Since 2015, the Covenant of Mayors' methodological approach to sustainable energy and climate action plans has been expanded to include three main areas: climate change mitigation, adaptation to climate change, and reduction of energy poverty. As a result, a wide range of competencies is needed to develop a plan that addresses all three aspects, as well as the ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders in both the development and implementation processes, and the ability to work systematically to implement the plan. Many municipalities in Europe have developed action plans or strategies to move towards climate neutrality and resilience, but the implementation of these plans often falls short of expectations. Introduction of an energy management system in municipalities successfully helps to institutionalise systematic action to improve energy efficiency, and this approach needs to be expanded and its elements used to achieve local government climate neutrality and climate resilience objectives. The objective of this Doctoral Thesis is to develop a methodology and recommendations for the implementation systematic approach in municipal energy and climate management, to ensure clear progress towards achieving climate neutrality goals, highlighting the role of energy management system in initiating specific actions. The Thesis is based on 6 scientific publications developed during PhD studies. Scientific articles have been published in several scientific journals and are available on the websites of these journals. The introduction to the Thesis describes the practical value of the topic, explains the purpose, tasks and hypothesis of the work. The first chapter provides a literature analysis looking at available information on the implementation of sustainable energy and climate action plans in municipalities, the integration of climate change adaptation aspects into these plans, the introduction of an energy management system in municipalities, as well as the impact of change in behaviour on energy consumption and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on energy consumption. The second chapter discusses the methods used for the research. Chapter three describes the results obtained from the studies and concludes with conclusions and recommendations for promoting sustainable planning in local governments.