Track: Energy & Environment

How can innovative land-sea planning secure a sustainable and resilient future for Kenya's coastline? In partnership with the European Union, the Kenyan government is driving a blue economy agenda, focusing on activities like data centers, marine conservation, and land-sea planning guidelines. This initiative prioritizes employment, ecosystem protection, and inclusivity, offering a replicable model for Kenya's counties and beyond.

We urgently need to find solutions to decarbonise our urban environments but the pace of innovation and implementation is too slow to meet the scale of the challenge. How do we supercharge this process to accelerate the change? Claire will suggest solutions based on her experience with governments, NGOs and global businesses.

Urban centers are leading the path to secure a more sustainable future through innovative policies, renewable energy adoption, and sustainable urban planning. Despite their efforts, the path towards reducing emissions and building resilient, eco-friendly communities is demanding, requiring the concerted efforts of all city stakeholders. How are cities navigating these challenges to take a stand against the climate emergency?

Water management has become a central topic of the urban agenda. Efficient and sustainable policies are vital for citizen well-being and the planet, prompting local governments to take proactive measures, transforming urban resilience using innovative approaches. Yet, rising global freshwater demand remains a significant challenge. Can cities adapt quickly enough to their fast-growing population and the management of a dwindling resource?

Energy communities have a pivotal role in energy transition and they are growing around the EU but they often struggle to take-off. The COMANAGE project aims to tackle and counteract the main governance and management barriers faced by citizen-led and public-participated energy communities’ projects by creating a sustainable governance framework and new resources for public authorities

Circular practices, enhancing resource efficiency, reusability, and waste reduction, are gaining momentum. With the implementation of recycling, effective waste management, and efficient water usage, urban centers are trying to adapt to the challenges brought by the climate emergency. How can these strategies be comprehensive enough to ensure thriving cities while prioritizing sustainability, innovation, and collaborative efforts across sectors?

Climate and nature data's significance in innovative projects for emissions reduction, urban nature conservation and financial opportunities. Urgent action is needed to combat climate change and biodiversity loss. Greater transparency is crucial for cities, businesses and financial institutions to assess risks and opportunities. Access to knowledge and analytics helps stakeholders promote climate resilience and a nature-positive economy.

Local and regional governments are key implementers of public policy, endowed with important place-based knowledge. They are pivotal for the successful delivery of Europe’s green transition. Good coordination across and between tiers of government and an enabling environment are important prerequisites to achieve our 2030 Agenda ambitions. Join us for this conversation on the role of Europe’s local and regional leaders to unleash opportunities for sustainable green transition that leaves no place and no-one behind.

NASA Langley is actively developing and piloting technologies to enable smart cities and connected communities, including through the airspace above them. We are implementing a smart horizontal infrastructure as well, where sensing and data fusion will enable efficient and effective operations. We are compelled to develop, implement, and pilot these technologies because they will be necessary for future human exploration of deep space, including Smart Outposts that will enable sustained lunar presence and human exploration of Mars. We are also generating significant scientific data to better understand our home planet, Earth, and that data is available to enable smart cities.

Cities have the power to drive change in the fight against the climate crisis. Tackling interconnected urban challenges, including the energy transition or food insecurity, calls for comprehensive solutions. Through curbing emissions, leading scalable projects, and fostering collaboration, cities can enact effective climate action. However, the question remains: which strategies will yield time and cost-effective results in achieving these crucial objectives?

Climate action in cities is essential for achieving ambitious net-zero emissions goals. The urban population is expected to grow significantly resulting in massive growth in demand for urban energy infrastructure while answering new ways of living. As many cities are operating on tight budgets, and the investments required are massive, cities must rethink their infrastructures and associated business models with the support of strategic partners like ENGIE to enable low carbon energy transition.

Join us for a discussion on the impact of sustainable airports within the smart city context. We’ll briefly touch on compelling use cases highlighting the airport industry’s approach to experience design, green technology, adaptation, and resiliency in providing essential, sustainable, and safe services to passengers and employees. We will also discuss how these services have become increasingly important as climate change is resulting in more adverse weather events, which already impact flights and, therefore, passenger delays, discomfort, and airport infrastructure.

Can urban expansion align with global sustainability goals? Cities are transforming their energy models to face the challenge of reducing their carbon footprint while accommodating continuous growth. From Smart Grids to clean hydrogen, innovative solutions are paving the way to a greener future. Yet, the journey to secure a steady and reliable power supply while driving the clean energy revolution forward comes with its share of challenges.

The implementation of Low Emission Zones (LEZs) has proven to be highly effective in improving air quality and other negative impacts caused by urban traffic. In this Agora session we will explain the experiences on the LEZs of the Barcelona Area and Lisbon within the scope of Lowezone project; an academic project co-founded by EIT-UM. which explores scaling up of LEZ solutions. The session will conclude with a final debate on the future of LEZ.

The panel discussion will provide a platform for thought-provoking discussions and knowledge sharing among innovation experts, urban practitioners and city representatives. By exploring state-of-the-art innovations, identifying gaps, and showcasing successful examples from cities and regions around the world, participants will be inspired to drive climate resilience through innovative solutions. The discussion will underline the critical role of innovation in accelerating climate resilience efforts in cities.

How do cities balance innovation, resilience, climate action, and well-being in the energy transition? The climate crisis permeates every aspect of urban life, making holistic solutions vital for healthier, climate-neutral cities. Delving into the strategies cities are adopting and understanding their potential can be the fist step towards driving successful energy transitions and creating the urban landscapes of the future.

Meeting of the board of the European Commission's Mission on Climate Neutral and Smart Cities. The Mission involves local authorities, citizens, businesses, investors as well as regional and national authorities to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, and ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050.

Cities are central to the energy systems of the future, built on decentralised, decarbonised and flexible sources. As consumers become producers and electricity becomes fully integrated through digital technologies, what is the role that cities can play in supporting a clean energy transition? This session will discuss how a 24/7 Carbon Free Approach can support cities in meeting their clean energy targets, by bringing together pilot cities like London, Copenhagen, Paris, and Thekwini to share insights on a carbon-free future.

In a world grappling with escalating emissions, cities are spearheading climate goals into action. From discourse to implementation, reducing carbon footprints, fostering resilient communities, exploring alternative energy pathways, and implementing innovative strategies is at the core of city planning. How are urban centres becoming powerful catalysts in driving the required change to attain a sustainable future for all?

Cities have a strategic advantage for improving quality of life. They contribute 70%+ of global CO2 emissions, house 75% of EU residents, and drive economic activity, knowledge, innovation, and technology. Despite facing barriers, cities lead in climate action. This session focuses on overcoming obstacles and establishing a European movement for sustainable urban solutions. It discusses cross-cutting approaches making climate neutrality irresistible for all stakeholders and unlocking benefits and accessibility.

We need to effectively include young people’s ideas if we are to create green and thriving neighbourhoods that work for everyone and accelerate climate action. C40’s Schools and Students Reinventing Cities urban design competitions connect the ideas of young people to city leaders, and empower youth to rethink how their cities are designed. The session will discuss the ideas that have emerged from these competitions, and how leaders and city networks can further engage youth to design innovative climate interventions.

In a world facing pressing ecological challenges, visionary startups are leading the change, presenting their pioneering solutions to drive sustainable change in the realms of energy and the environment. Join us for a session that celebrates innovation, sustainability, and the pursuit of a greener, more eco-conscious future. Be inspired by the groundbreaking solutions presented by these startups, as they pave the way for a more harmonious relationship between humanity and the planet.

Step into the exhilarating world of Urban Shark Tank, where bold innovators from companies dive into the depths of creative pitches of use cases to captivate a panel of cities committed to climate-smart solutions. Witness the fusion of entrepreneurship, creativity, and sustainability as groundbreaking companies pitch their visionary ideas, vying for the support and collaboration of forward-thinking urban leaders in cities.

Our age will be defined by the climate emergency. But contrary to the doomist narrative that’s taken hold, the world has already begun deploying the solutions needed to deal with it. On a journey across five continents, Akshat Rathi will discuss his new book Climate Capitalism, and how it tracks the unlikely heroes driving the fight against climate change.

This session will discuss the role of Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) as a component for achieving climate neutrality and how to replicate this concept. A specific focus will be given to broader functions of PEDs such as social innovation.

Urban centers are leading the way in embracing the circular economy, an approach that emphasizes resource efficiency and waste repurposing. By redesigning, reducing, reusing, and recycling, cities can achieve a balance between economic growth and sustainability. But how can circular practices be seamlessly integrated into the urban fabric? What strategies can cities adopt to minimize consumption while maximizing resource utilization?

The Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission aims for 100 cities to become climate neutral by 2030, inspiring all other cities to follow suit by 2050. To achieve this unprecedented goal, unlocking the potential of tech and data infrastructure is critical. Yet Smartness goes beyond technology and tech does not always mean smart.

What are the needs of cities and regions on their path to climate neutrality? What solutions are already out there? A quiz will test the audience knowledge and provide complete answers in a highly interactive session, bringing together a number of projects and showing how existing solutions already developed and tested can support local and regional authorities to withstand the impacts of climate change and reach the related EU targets.

The Side Event on Smart Water Cities Certification will showcase the progress and outcomes of the three-year Smart Water Cities project, initiated in 2020. This Smart Water Cities Certification tool will contribute to enhancing water resource decision-making. During the event, the pilot evaluations conducted in Busan Eco Delta Smart City (Republic of Korea) and the city of Semarang (Republic of Indonesia) will be presented.

Current energy and resources situation has highlighted the importance of supporting the use and recovery of biobased resources, according to the EU Green Deal and the UN Agenda 2030. This international workshop focus on the sustainable development of regions and cities, the exchange of experience and the capacity building to support the improvement of policy instruments and the implementation of new technologies for waste valorisation.