With urban areas contributing 75% of global CO2 emissions, achieving climate neutrality demands collaboration beyond individual city limits. Differences and challenges remain significant, but from Dresden to Istanbul, pooling expertise and sharing strategies is proving crucial for fostering innovation and increasing impact
With more than half the world’s population living in urban areas, and cities being accountable for 75 % of global CO2 emissions, climate neutrality is a challenging target. Through projects that bring together all kinds of private and public stakeholders, cities are at the forefront of this fight but cannot stay isolated and act “as islands”, when implementing them. This is what Stefania Mascolo believes, project coordinator at Eurocities, a Brussels-based network representing more than 200 cities in 38 countries. She highlights that cities are already complex ecosystems, where different actors contribute to missions and innovation for sustainable transformation. “These ecosystems are not independent but part of a network of European cities that facilitates the exchange of knowledge and experience, both in terms of lessons learned but also challenges, which creates collaboration and leads to progress towards common goals,” she explains.
Together with Eurocities, an example of how this collaboration works is the NetZeroCities project, a consortium of over 30 organisations across Europe that claims to be committed to “helping and supporting cities in taking action to reach climate neutrality by 2030.” Supporting its global outreach is among the goals of the Urban Transition Mission Centre, a platform aimed at mainstreaming actions towards climate-neutral and net-zero urban developments. “We are now working with some 50 cities around the world, but in the coming years, this number is expected to grow up to 300,” explains its platform leader, and project coordinator at Eurocities, Karel van Oordt Montalvo.
One of the many European projects partnering with Eurocities is NEUTRALPATH. The consortium, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding with NetZeroCities, pursues its goal to reach climate neutrality by 2030, by fostering the uptake of “Positive and Clean Energy Districts” (PCEDs), city districts capable not only of cutting carbon emissions but also of reducing them below zero. First tested in Dresden, Germany, and Zaragoza, Spain, its solutions will then be implemented in so-called “follower cities”, such as Vantaa, in Finland, Istanbul, in Turkey, and Ghent, in Belgium.
Dresden’s approach, which consists of merging two areas with very different characteristics and potential into an energy-positive virtual district, was made possible also by the collaboration with cities such as Antalya, Valencia, and Munich, within the EU projects MatchUp and Ascend. Partners meet twice a year for a general assembly and have monthly meetings for the six working groups to exchange ideas with other cities, explains Anh Minh Vu, NEUTRALPATH’s coordinator in Dresden. Still, he specifies that “most of the work is done via video calls and bilateral calls that we do on necessity.”
One more indirect benefit of this collaboration is the “imitation effect” triggered by virtuous examples, such as the one of Zaragoza. As part of the “Climate City Contract”, designed to help cities further accelerate their climate transition, the Spanish city committed to cutting its emissions by 8% more than the ‘business as usual scenario’, which was set for 2030. “In recognition of these plans and strategy, Zaragoza was awarded the so-called EU Mission Label, and we have since recorded a ‘cascading effect’, with other Spanish cities following its example and embracing the same engagement,” explains Gabriela Uchoa, NetZeroCities City Advisor for Zaragoza and other cities.
But collaboration is also possible on an international scale, and among very different cities such as Istanbul and Vaanta, points out Mascolo. “The first one is a 15 million people megalopolis, and the Finnish city has only 200 thousand inhabitants; their climate and political environment are completely different. Yet, when they get together, we discover that they also face common challenges, such as public policies, both at the national and European level, as well as access to technology and to European funds,” she says. “This is why, despite their differences, letting them talk is always beneficial.”
And this is also why, to develop positive energy districts for more vulnerable people with lower levels of income and education, Ghent is taking inspiration from Dresden. Yet, as the German city has already an extensive district heating network and their challenge is now to become fuel-free, differences remain significant. “We are just investigating the possibilities to develop district heating networks,” says Roeland Keersmaekers, NEUTRALPATH project coordinator in Ghent. “So, you learn about the approach of the other cities, but always you have to translate it into your own context and legislation.” Additionally, a multi-criteria analysis carried within the project pushed his city to collect a whole series of essential data that they wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. “Collaborating in the NEUTRALPATH project was a good opportunity to ask for this data in the other departments of the city,” and proved to be so far one of the most important results of such collaborations, he adds.
Yet, their potential is much bigger, acknowledges Keersmaekers, referring to the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive that enables EU countries to promote energy communities: “To share electricity in an energy community in Belgium, you have to pay distribution taxes, so there are no financial advantages in sharing energy. So, we first have to get rid of some barriers that still exist, and thanks to these networks, you can bring it to the political level with more force”.
By Selene Verri and Diego Giuliani
Photo credit: Mostafijur Rahman Nasim – Pexels
