The Future City: The Core of the Green and Digital Transitions in Europe

The 6th Annual Future of Transport Conference

Click here to view recordings of all sessions on demand.

Event Overview

As the closest level of governments to people and as centres of economic growth, cities have the potential to play a major role in dealing with many of the critical issues faced in Europe today, by becoming key drivers of the “twin green and digital transitions”.

This new Forum Europe conference will gather over 600 European and national policy-makers, regional decision-makers and city representatives as well as top level industry experts across two days to discuss the role that European cities can play in the twin transitions towards climate neutrality and digital leadership.

2021 Highlights

Key Themes

data

The role of tech and data for a human-centric and green digital transformation of the city

Connectivity

The computing power, connectivity,  infrastructure needed for sustainable and resilient smart cities

energy system

Energy System Integration to lower emissions in the circular city

electric-bike

Smart and sustainable mobility, multimodality and the future city planning

renovation wave

The role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a circular and smart urban transformation

food and rural

Achieving Sustainable and resilient food systems in cities and strengthening the connection with peripheral rural communities

covid recovery

The future of urban development policies post Covid-19

Key Themes

data

The role of tech and data for a human-centric and green digital transformation of the city

Connectivity

The computing power connectivity infrastructure needed for sustainable and resilient smart cities

energy system

Energy System Integration to lower emissions in the circular city

electric-bike

Smart and sustainable mobility, multimodality and the future city planning

renovation wave

The role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a circular and smart urban transformation

food and rural

Achieving Sustainable and resilient food systems in cities and strengthening the connection with peripheral rural communities

covid recovery

The future of urban development policies post Covid-19

Confirmed Speakers

Dubravka Šuica

Dubravka Šuica

Vice President for Demography and Democracy

European Commission

Virginijus Sinkevičius

Virginijus Sinkevičius

Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries

European Commission

Pedro Siza Vieira

Pedro Siza Vieira

Minister of State for the Economy and the Digital Transition, Portugal

Ditte Juul Jorgensen

Ditte Juul Jørgensen

Director-General, DG ENERGY

European Commission

Lilyana Pavlova

Lilyana Pavlova

Vice-President

European Investment Bank

Dario Nardella

Dario Nardella

Mayor of Florence and President of Eurocities

Barbara Kauffmann

Barbara Kauffmann

Director for Employment and Social Governance, DG EMPL

European Commission

Theo Blackwell

Theo Blackwell

Chief Digital Officer for the Mayor of London

Michael Donaldson

Michael Donaldson

Chief Technology Officer

City of Barcelona

Mihhail Kõlvart

Mihhail Kõlvart

Mayor of Tallinn

Anna Scavuzzo

Anna Scavuzzo

Deputy Mayor of Milan

Lasse J 240

Lasse Frimand Jensen

Chairman of the Board, Aalborg Utilities, Water Supply Division

Aalborg Municipality

Matthew Baldwin

Matthew Baldwin

Deputy Director General, DG MOVE

European Commission

Mikko Rasuma

Mikko Rusama

Chief Digital Officer

City of Helsinki

Hans Van Steen

Hans Van Steen

Adviser for Research and Innovation and Energy Efficiency

European Commission

Eddy Hartog

Eddy Hartog

Head of Unit, Technologies for Smart Communities, DG CONNECT

European Commission

Stefan Moser

Stefan Moser

Head of Unit, Buildings and Products, DG ENERGY

European Commission

Claire Bury

Claire Bury

Deputy Director General for Food sustainability, DG SANTE

European Commission

Normunds Popens

Normunds Popens

Deputy Director General, DG REGIO

European Commission

Cristina Martinez

Cristina Martinez

Deputy Head of Unit, Technologies for Smart Communities, DG CONNECT

European Commission

Sander van Lingen

Sander van Lingen

Business Development Manager for Digital Cities

Dell Technologies

Aurélien Pozzana

Aurélien Pozzana

Move EU Chair

Head of Public Policy for Western Europe and EU at Bolt

Eamonn Hughes

Eamonn Hughes

VP/GM EMEALA, OpenBlue Digital

Johnson Controls

Jeremy-Rollison-1

Jeremy Rollison

Director, EU Government Affairs

Microsoft Europe

Anna-Vera Deinhammer

Anna-Vera Deinhammer

Coordinator for the Construction Industry, and program lead for DoTank Circular City Wien 2020-2030

City of Vienna

Kristina Lindfors

Kristina Lindfors

Director General of Urban Transport Administration

City of Gothenburg

Ana Oregi

Ana Oregi

Deputy Mayor

City of Vitoria Gasteiz

Jeroen Borst

Jeroen Borst

Cluster manager, Societal Impact for Accessibility and Liveability, Traffic and Transport

TNO

Robert Dijksterhuis

Robert Dijksterhuis

Envoy Sustainable Building

Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

Harriet Teare

Harriet Teare

Research Leader

RAND Europe

Vida Rozite

Vida Rozite

Energy Policy Analyst

International Energy Agency

Matthieu Vincent

Matthieu Vincent

Founder

DigitalFoodLab

Christoph Luykx

Christoph Luykx

Policy Director

Orgalim

Stephen Richardson

Stephen Richardson

Director, Europe Regional Network

World Green Building council

Dominik Campanella

Dominik Campanella

Co-Founder

Concular

Natalie Samovich

Natalie Samovich

Co-founder Resilientgroup, Chair WG Energy AIOTI, Co-founder and Managing Director, Enercoutim

Jorrit Kiewik

Jorrit Kiewik

Director

Global Slow Food Youth Network

Paul Adamson

Paul Adamson

Chairman

Forum Europe

Elisar Bashir

Elisar Bashir

Senior Policy and Regulatory Analyst

Cullen International

Alice Charles

Alice Charles

Project Lead, Cities, Infrastructure and Urban Services Platform

World Economic Forum

Anna Lisa Boni

Anna-Lisa Boni

Secretary General

Eurocities

Ivo Bankek

Ivo Banek

Communications Director

Eurocities

Claire-Marie Healy

Claire-Marie Healy

Senior Project Manager, Tech, Media, Telecom & Mobility

CERRE

Felice Simonelli

Felice Simonelli

Associate Senior Research Fellow

CEPS

hannah_abdullah 240

Hannah Abdullah

Senior Research Fellow

Barcelona Centre for International Affairs

Jürgen Pruss

Jürgen Pruss

Chief Technology Officer - Government

Dell Technologies

Wolf Stinnes

Wolf Stinnes

Principal Director, Smart World Solutions, EMEA

NTT Inc

Agenda

If you are interested in speaking, sponsorship and visibility opportunities, please contact Anne-Lise Simon at thefuturecity@forum-europe.com / +44 (0) 2920 780 023.

Note: All timings are in Central European Summer Time (CEST)

Day 1
2021-06-15
Day 2
2021-06-16
09:00 - 09:25
Virtual Platform and Networking area opening
09:25 - 09:30
Welcome by Forum Europe
09:30 - 10:00
Keynote Session and Q&A
Keynote Session and Q&A image
Ditte Juul Jørgensen
Director-General for Energy, European Commission
Keynote Session and Q&A image
Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
Keynote Session and Q&A image
Dario Nardella
Mayor of Florence and President of Eurocities
10:00 - 11:15
Session 1: Reinventing life in European cities through Open Data and a human-centric approach

Data generated by and captured from connected local infrastructures, public services and citizens is often described as the lifeblood of a smart city – indeed, the collection and analysis of data on traffic, energy consumption, footfall, waste management and other aspects of city life can provide valuable insights into existing trends, and lead to solutions to many urban challenges such as housing issues, traffic and mobility, air and noise pollution, rising energy usage and inefficient use of urban space. A truly functioning Smart City can only be achieved if based on a dataset that is vast, heterogenous and accurate, and is a prime example of how the promotion of Open Data, data sharing and interoperability efforts can concretely strengthen evidence-based policymaking. In addition, it is recognised that Smart City initiatives can only be successful with the active participation of its citizens and that the green and digital transformation of urban environments must also follow a ‘human-centric’ approach that does not just consider residents as ‘end-users’ but that engage and empowers them, putting their intrinsic needs are at the centre of every objectives. This session will ask how challenges relating to data availability, data sharing and access, transparency and privacy, data repurposing and limitation can be addressed in the context of the Smart City in ways that truly serve and empower citizens, manage urban growth sustainably and in an environmentally friendly way, improve the delivery of public services, as well as enhance social inclusion and cohesion.

It will also:

  • Analyse the unique challenges around Smart City Data and explore solutions to these challenges.
  • Discuss the impact that the goals and provisions of the European Data Strategy and Governance Act can have, if and when applied at local level, and examine how local authorities can work together with national and European policymakers, industry representatives and research entities to unleash the power of data in cities.
  • Highlight example of cities that have create successful models of data sharing and citizen engagement through which residents can share their data for public benefit and the extent to which data-driven innovation has helped strengthen evidence-based policymaking.
  • Emphasise the importance of interoperability, cross-sectorial standardisation efforts and future-proofing of various data systems and models, and showcase good practices of the use of Urban Digital Twins.
  • Ask how successful the provisions of the European ‘Open Data Directive’ that entered into force in July 2019 has been, and what shortcomings, if any, have been identified in the context of the digitisation of public services delivery.
  • Debate what more can be done to promote citizens’ awareness, trust and participation in data collection processes – especially from the groups that are the most difficult to reach and engage with- to create a city that is inclusive, supports social cohesion, promotes democratic participation in local initiatives, improves the delivery of public services as well as allow for new ‘green’ data-enabled businesses and social innovation models to emerge.
Session 1: Reinventing life in European cities through Open Data and a human-centric approach image
Eddy Hartog
Head of Unit, Technologies for Smart Communities, DG CONNECT, European Commission
Session 1: Reinventing life in European cities through Open Data and a human-centric approach image
Theo Blackwell
Chief Digital Officer for the Mayor of London
Session 1: Reinventing life in European cities through Open Data and a human-centric approach image
Mikko Rusama
Chief Digital Officer, City of Helsinki
Session 1: Reinventing life in European cities through Open Data and a human-centric approach image
Eamonn Hughes
VP/GM EMEALA, OpenBlue Digital, Johnson Controls
Session 1: Reinventing life in European cities through Open Data and a human-centric approach image
Jeremy Rollison
Director, EU Government Affairs, Microsoft Europe
Session 1: Reinventing life in European cities through Open Data and a human-centric approach image
Elisar Bashir
Senior Policy and Regulatory Analyst, Cullen International
11:15 - 12:30
Session 2: Connectivity, computing power, digital infrastructure and domain integration: Building the digital backbone of the smart city

The potential of Smart City data can only be truly leveraged with the adequate digital infrastructure and network connectivity in place, allowing large volume of information coming from various sources to move quickly and securely as well as enabling a safe real-time response. The use of advanced technologies such as AI, cloud and edge computing, as well as IoT in conjunction with 5G, local-area networks and other connectivity technologies, can play a crucial role in the functioning of smart cities, supporting the creation, collection, sharing, and analysis of huge amounts of data being constantly generated by sensors and smart devices. With data coming from multiple sources however, integration between domains that would normally be isolated from each other is needed to get a clearer understanding of how our cities function, identify areas for improvement and ultimately enable more efficient and sustainable decision-making processes to transform existing urban infrastructures as well as enhance the quality and performance of public services. This session will reflect on how best European cities can harness advanced technologies and connectivity to transform themselves in more efficient, more pleasant and green-friendly places to live as well as to make strategic decisions better adapted to the urban space and to their citizens habits and needs.

It will also:

  • Discuss the most suitable tech solutions to ensure a continuous and reliable connectivity and to meet the requirements of data-intensive innovations in smart cities
  •  Explore the cybersecurity and reliability implications linked to the smart city as well as the technological and non-technological solutions currently available to address security challenges and future vulnerability
  • Review the extent to which the provisions outlined in the European Data Strategy allow for AI capacity to be enhanced and to boost the value created by IoT/IoE and 5G deployments, in the specific context of the Smart City
  • Ask what is needed so that cities can successfully facilitate integration between different domains therefore maximising the potential transformative power of all data available. How can a cross-sectorial approach be ensured for the development of an open smart city ecosystem?
  • Debate the reforms needed in terms of investment to promote smart city technologies deployment in cities across Europe and support cutting-edge research into HPC technologies.
  • Ask what can be done to address the significant demand for energy and critical raw materials for these technologies and to reduce their digital carbon footprint
  • Examine what a successful smart city ecosystem look like and what the best practices are
Session 2: Connectivity, computing power, digital infrastructure and domain integration: Building the digital backbone of the smart city image
Cristina Martinez
Deputy Head of Unit, Technologies for Smart Communities, DG CONNECT, European Commission
Session 2: Connectivity, computing power, digital infrastructure and domain integration: Building the digital backbone of the smart city image
Michael Donaldson
CTO, City of Barcelona
Session 2: Connectivity, computing power, digital infrastructure and domain integration: Building the digital backbone of the smart city image
Sander van Lingen
Business Development Manager for Digital Cities, Dell Technologies
Session 2: Connectivity, computing power, digital infrastructure and domain integration: Building the digital backbone of the smart city image
Vida Rozite
Energy Policy Analyst, International Energy Agency
Session 2: Connectivity, computing power, digital infrastructure and domain integration: Building the digital backbone of the smart city image
Claire-Marie Healy
Senior Project Manager, Tech, Media, Telecom & Mobility, CERRE
12:30 - 13:15
Showcase Session | Smart Cities with Smart Solutions: Hosted by Dell Technologies

In recent years, many new political and strategic requirements for digitizing the public sector, federal states, cities, and municipalities have been confronted with massive new challenges. Due to the tense situation that has persisted since 2020, public digitization is currently experiencing an unexpected boost. In response to this exceptional situation, however, the implementation is often situational, unplanned, and uncoordinated. Now at the latest the urgent question arises, which is the best technical, most sustainable, and organizationally compatible solution in the future?

The fundamental digitization of cities is generally necessary and can no longer be stopped. The most important drivers are increasing urbanization with its environmental, mobility and energy supply problems, the growing demand for digital services and the practical findings from the pandemic. The municipalities are faced with the challenge of having to cover all the important fields of action in their plans to build a digital city: firstly, dealing with digital issues, secondly, building a digital organization, and thirdly, selecting and integrating suitable digital technologies.

Data Centralization and Software Defined Data Center

A city with its many administrative facilities, municipal companies and properties can be viewed as a data-centric hub. Diverse and different data are generated in a city, many endpoints, and interfaces interlock. In many cases, however, until today the data is often only generated and processed in the respective individual urban areas and limited fields of action. Only the department itself and very few of the other urban areas can access this data. Therefore, one of the first goals in a sustainable digitization strategy should be the implementation of a central OpenData City platform based on a modern, flexible IT infrastructure – as provided by NTT Smart Solutions.

For cities that operate their own data center, a central data platform opens the possibility of offering their citizens their own cloud-like services. The prerequisite for this is a modern data center with a high degree of automation. The first stage for this is hyper-converged systems for server, storage, and network functionality. With their virtualization functions, they increase utilization many times over. A completely virtualized “software-defined data center” (SDDC) is even more efficient. On the one hand, it has a high degree of automation in order to be able to operate specialist processes efficiently, on the other hand, in conjunction with edge computing, it enables the use of modern IoT applications for smart cities services.

In this showcase session, Dell Technologies and NTT will show you their joint  Smart Solutions and how you can operate multiple use cases from various urban areas on a central hyper-converged IT infrastructure without having to enlarge your IT organization.

Showcase Session | Smart Cities with Smart Solutions: Hosted by Dell Technologies image
Jürgen Pruss
Chief Technology Officer - Government, Dell Technologies
Showcase Session | Smart Cities with Smart Solutions: Hosted by Dell Technologies image
Wolf Stinnes
Principal Director, Smart World Solutions, Europe, Middle East & Africa
13:15 - 13:45
Lunch break and Visit of the City Innovation Hub
13:45 - 15:15
Session 3: Sustainable and Smart Mobility – Achieving a more sustainable and efficient transport ecosystem in the city

Mobility is central to the functioning of our societies, and with population density greater than ever before in urban areas, transport systems in European cities increasingly need to be transformed to lower carbon emissions, reduce road congestion, improve safety, drive efficiencies and become more adapted to citizens’ needs. The use of data and digital technologies can play a key role in rethinking urban transport and in meeting the CO2 emissions reduction targets set out in the European Green Deal, by making driving behaviours more efficient, helping real-time traffic management, informing city planning and spatial use in urban areas, and supporting the development of truly integrated multimodal transport systems that include public transport, active modes of transport and new mobility services and are based on the needs and expectations of the citizen of the 21st century and of the Covid-19 era.

This session will:

  • Discuss the plans set out in the recently released Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and explore the opportunities and challenges that may arise in the context of urban transport.
  • Provide lesson learnt from cities that have successfully integrated digital technology into existing transportation hubs leading to smarter, safer transport systems as well as to GHG emissions cuts and better air quality.
  • Explore how sustainable alternatives to conventional transportation within cities can be further incentivised
  • Consider how vehicle manufacturers, tech and energy companies can work together with city officials to design transport solutions thar are fit-for-purpose, run on clean fuels, promote multimodality and meet citizens’ expectations.
  • Highlight the policy and financial support needed to promote innovation in this area, as well as discuss the role of PPPs.
  • Explore the role of C-V2X technology in the future city, its potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to solve the ‘last-mile issue’ as well as the steps to be undertaken to future-proof roads and city infrastructure for the integration of connected vehicles into the wider European transport network.
  • Address what is required to deliver the adequate digital infrastructure for aggregated, anonymized and privacy compliant geolocation and mobility data and ask how well plans to establish ‘Transport Data Spaces’ to promote data sharing and interoperability respond to these requirements
  • Debate what updates will be needed to the Intelligent Transport Systems Directive, that is currently being revised and due to be adopted in the second half of 2021, to truly create efficient transport systems in cities.
  • Explore the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on urban mobility, the positive lessons that can be drawn from the steps implemented by cities that have transformed their urban space for shared use between different mobility modes including active mode of transport.
Session 3: Sustainable and Smart Mobility – Achieving a more sustainable and efficient transport ecosystem in the city image
Matthew Baldwin
Deputy Director General, DG MOVE, European Commission
Session 3: Sustainable and Smart Mobility – Achieving a more sustainable and efficient transport ecosystem in the city image
Ana Oregi
Deputy Mayor, City of Vitoria Gasteiz
Session 3: Sustainable and Smart Mobility – Achieving a more sustainable and efficient transport ecosystem in the city image
Kristina Lindfors
Director General of Urban Transport Administration, City of Gothenburg
Session 3: Sustainable and Smart Mobility – Achieving a more sustainable and efficient transport ecosystem in the city image
Aurélien Pozzana
Head of Public Policy for Western Europe and EU, Bolt - Representing MOVE EU
Session 3: Sustainable and Smart Mobility – Achieving a more sustainable and efficient transport ecosystem in the city image
Jeroen Borst
Cluster manager, Societal Impact for Accessibility and Liveability, Traffic and Transport, TNO
Session 3: Sustainable and Smart Mobility – Achieving a more sustainable and efficient transport ecosystem in the city image
Anna-Lisa Boni
Secretary General, Eurocities
15:15 - 16:00
End of Day 1 and Visit of the City Innovation Hub
09:00 - 09:25
Platform opening and visit of the virtual City Innovation Hub
09:30 - 10:15
Keynote Speeches
Keynote Speeches image
Virginijus Sinkevičius
Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, European Commission
Keynote Speeches image
Lilyana Pavlova
Vice-President, European Investment Bank
Keynote Speeches image
Barbara Kauffmann
Director for Employment and Social Governance, DG EMPL, European Commission
Keynote Speeches image
Pedro Siza Vieira
Minister of State for the Economy and the Digital Transition, Portugal
Keynote Speeches image
Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
10:15 - 11:30
Session 4: The Role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a Circular and Smart Urban Transformation

The Renovation Wave Strategy released in October 2020 is thought to have the potential to play a significant role in cities climate change initiatives and overall green planning strategies: stating that “buildings are responsible for about 40% of the EU’s total energy consumption, and for 36% of its greenhouse gas emissions from energy” the strategy sets out ambitions plan to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings through renovation and make the construction of new ones with low-carbon construction materials more sustainable. This session will discuss the benefits that technology, sustainable procurement strategies, R&D and cross-sector collaboration can bring to make the Renovation Wave Strategy a success in cities by cutting emissions, creating green jobs, revitalising districts, tackling energy poverty and, ultimately, improving citizens’ quality of life.

  • To what extent are the provisions of the Renovation Wave Strategy adequate to decarbonise buildings in cities and encourage the modernisation and revitalisation of certain urban areas? To which extent EU initiatives – such as the European Smart Cities Marketplace, Horizon Europe R&D projects and the upcoming revision of the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive, amongst others – can help achieving cities planning objectives?
  • Based on lessons learnt during the current pandemic, what opportunities does renovation offer in order to rethink the urban space and manage flows of people?
  • How are constructions project requirements evolving based on the impact of the pandemic, on technological trends and citizen demands?
  • What needs to be done to enhance the circularity of low-carbon construction materials throughout the entire value chain (in order to develop climate-neutral buildings and infrastructures? How can R&D in this area be further promoted?
  • How can data applications, cross-sectoral data-sharing and the use of advanced digital solutions, such as Digital Twins and Building Information Modelling, help with the design, planning and delivery of energy-efficient buildings and with their integration to smart energy distribution systems?
  • How can it be ensured that the regulatory support, the right incentives and financing instruments are in place to achieve these goals? What can be done to enhance collaboration between the public and private sector in this area and what role can public procurement play to create a valid business case guaranteeing ROI and boosting demand for sustainable constructions products and solutions?
Session 4: The Role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a Circular and Smart Urban Transformation image
Anna-Vera Deinhammer
Coordinator for the Construction Industry, and program lead for DoTank Circular City Wien 2020-2030, City of Vienna
Session 4: The Role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a Circular and Smart Urban Transformation image
Stefan Moser
Head of Unit, Buildings and Products, DG ENERGY, European Commission
Session 4: The Role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a Circular and Smart Urban Transformation image
Robert Dijksterhuis
Envoy Sustainable Building, Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
Session 4: The Role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a Circular and Smart Urban Transformation image
Stephen Richardson
Director, Europe Regional Network, World Green Building Council
Session 4: The Role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a Circular and Smart Urban Transformation image
Dominik Campanella
Co-Founder, Concular
Session 4: The Role of the Renovation Wave Strategy for a Circular and Smart Urban Transformation image
Felice Simonelli
Associate Senior Research Fellow, CEPS
11:30 - 12:45
Session 5: Sustainable and resilient food systems in cities

With 70 % of the global food supply estimated to be consumed in cities, and in the context of a continued increase in urban population and the expansion of metropolitan areas, cities play a crucial role in the broader food ecosystem. In addition to explore lessons learnt regarding food production, storage, distribution and consumption patterns during the pandemic, this session will examine how strengthening food systems would allow cities to not only address issues regarding food poverty, food security, health and nutrition, but also to respond to challenges linked to the protection of biodiversity, land use, food waste and job creation. It will analyse the role that tech innovation can play in strengthening the connection between urban and peripheral rural communities, how citizens can actively participate in efforts to improve food systems and what more is needed, within the urban context, to fulfil the ambitions of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy to create more sustainable and resilient food systems.

Session 5: Sustainable and resilient food systems in cities image
Claire Bury
Deputy Director General for Food sustainability, DG SANTE, European Commission
Session 5: Sustainable and resilient food systems in cities image
Anna Scavuzzo
Deputy Mayor of Milan
Session 5: Sustainable and resilient food systems in cities image
Matthieu Vincent
Founder, DigitalFoodLab
Session 5: Sustainable and resilient food systems in cities image
Jorrit Kiewik
Director of the global Slow Food Youth Network
Session 5: Sustainable and resilient food systems in cities image
Ivo Banek
Communications Director, Eurocities
12:45 - 13:00
Thinking Point: Smart Cities and emerging technologies in health
Thinking Point: Smart Cities and emerging technologies in health image
Harriet Teare
Research Leader, RAND Europe
13:00 - 14:15
Lunch break and Visit of the City Innovation Hub
14:15 - 15:30
Session 6: Decarbonisation in the Circular City: Lowering emissions through renewable energy and system integration

Increasing energy demands and the concentration of emissions in urban areas remains a major challenge for cities despite ongoing efforts to make energy supply more secure, clean and sustainable. If Europe is to be climate neutral by 2050 as per the plans set out in the Green Deal, meet the objective of having 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030, and reach the 55% emission reduction target by 2030, boosting the deployment of sustainable solutions for energy production and consumption within cities are urgently needed. This session will look at such solutions, the investments needed, and discuss how the use of green energy can be best promoted and incentivised at local, regional, national and European levels. It will discuss the role that energy system integration can play in both meeting rising energy demands in cities and in making it cleaner and more sustainable, as well as explore the extent to which the twin use of renewable sources with smart technologies can lead to a successful energy transition.

This session will also ask:

  • What concrete role European cities can play in achieving the goals set out in the EU Strategy for Energy System Integration and its three main pillars – a more circular energy system, greater direct electrification and the promotion of clean fuels – to put the EU on track to be climate neutral by 2050?
  • What can be learnt from cities that have implemented renewable energy and successfully transitioned to a circular energy generation-consumption model?
  • What more can be done at national and European level to promote further incentives for regional-based green energy investments, and how collaboration between cities and regions can be best promoted and engagement with local communities ensured?
  • What role does digital technology play in enabling more intelligent and efficient energy generation, storage, load shifting and consumption? To which extent does the use of innovative solutions such as Virtual Power Plants or DHC grids help optimise the match between energy generation and demand?
Session 6: Decarbonisation in the Circular City: Lowering emissions through renewable energy and system integration image
Hans Van Steen
Adviser for Research and Innovation and Energy Efficiency, European Commission
Session 6: Decarbonisation in the Circular City: Lowering emissions through renewable energy and system integration image
Lasse Jensen