European Commission: In focus: Energy and smart cities
Source: European Commission
European cities are a hub for all sorts of activities – a pathway for study opportunities, jobs and services because of their key infrastructure and economic activity. More than three-quarters of the EU population live in urban areas and this figure is expected to rise to almost 85% by 2050.
Due to their large concentration of population, urban areas also consume the largest volumes of energy and have the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions. As the fight against climate change increasingly involves the deployment of solutions at all levels and the participation of citizens, cities are well-placed to show leadership in the clean energy transition and can achieve significant benefits through the early adoption of policies aimed at achieving climate neutrality. To this end, the European Commission is placing smart cities at the forefront of its efforts to reach the European Green Deal objectives and make Europe climate-neutral by 2050.
What is a ‘smart city’?
A smart city is a place that integrates physical, digital and human systems in traditional networks and services to better use energy resources and reduce emissions to the benefit of citizens and businesses.
The definition of a ‘smart city’ goes beyond the use of digital technologies – it also includes more energy efficient buildings, integrated renewable energy sources, sustainable heating and cooling systems, smarter urban transport networks, upgraded water supply and better waste disposal facilities to tackle the city’s economic, social and environmental challenges. Smart cities rely on a political commitment and broad and inclusive citizen engagement to deliver sustainable and inclusive solutions to make cities more resilient.
EU energy policy initiatives and cities
Several EU policies, proposals and initiatives promoting more sustainable and competitive urban areas are already in place. These include the implementation of smart technologies in buildings to increase their energy efficiency, the promotion of research and innovation efforts to transform the EU’s energy system into a low-carbon one and the development of expertise network exchanges to implement the EU climate and energy objectives in cities.
Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy
The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy was launched by the European Commission in 2008 and has since brought together local and regional authorities who voluntarily commit to implementing the EU’s climate and energy objectives on their territory.
At present, the community includes over 11 000 signatories that are linked to the EU's climate and energy policy framework. Covenant signatories commit to adopting an integrated approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation. They are also required to develop a sustainable energy and climate action plan with the aim of cutting CO2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030 and increasing resilience to climate change. Energy poverty is another key pillar of this initiative. Furthermore, in May 2022, the Covenant launched the Cities Energy Savings Sprint Covenant to accelerate energy savings under the REPowerEU plan.
The Covenant has brought together numerous cities around the world, leading the European Commission to establish the Global Covenant of Mayors in 2016 together with the ex-Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg.