Energy Cities is the european association of local authorities in energy transition. The association created in 1990 represents now more than 1,000 towns and cities in 30 countries.

The commons transition: it's all about pooling resources
by Béatrice Alcaraz
26 Jul 2017 at 12:30am

Interview with Michel Bauwens, President of the Foundation for P2P Alternatives
Mr Bauwens, since March 2017, you have been assisting the city of Ghent, Belgium, with a ?commons transition? project. At a time when European towns and cities are working on their roadmaps towards a desirable future by 2050, what can you tell us about this specific project? How does it interact with existing approaches such as energy transition and climate plans?
The question underpinning the energy and climate (...)

Smart mobility projects as change-makers? Outcomes from workshop in Sofia, Bu...
by Francisco Gonçalves
25 Jul 2017 at 8:04am

Common problems and joint solutions for smart mobility and citizen engagement were at the focus of a thematic workshop in Sofia in the framework of the Smarter Together project.
Energy Cities, Eurocities and Sofia Municipality organised the workshop, at which the Bulgarian capital presented its Smart Specialization Strategy.
The workshop brought together four Bulgarian cities participating in four H2020 Smart Cities projects: Smarter Together (Sofia), Sharing Cities (Burgas), (...)

Colours and science to raise environmental awareness in Bielsko-Biala!
24 Jul 2017 at 7:31am

The Beskids Good Energy Festival took place June 9 in Energy Cities' Polish member city Bielsko-Biala. It was the 7th edition of a very popular and recreative festival on energy, environmental and climate protection.
Demonstrations of physical and chemical experiments, fantastic vegetable and fruit sculptures, bricklaying a good energy city, the demolition of old computers for parts, or controlling LEGO robots, fun with a bike-power station or electric labyrinth in the Interaction Park - (...)

Stuttgart : towards a carbon neutral city thanks to a local energy ownership
by Béatrice Alcaraz
19 Jul 2017 at 1:00am

In 2011, Stuttgart City Council set up the municipal utility Die Stadtwerke Stuttgart (SWS) as a subsidiary of Stuttgarter Versorgungs- und Verkehrsgesellschaft, in charge of public transport. The remunicipalisation process ended with the take-over of the distribution networks (gas and electricity) in 2014, just 12 years after the privatisation of the former Stadtwerke TWS in 2002.
The energy remunicipalisation initiative was immediately backed up with an ambitious energy transition and (...)

Energy Cities President meets Members of European Parliament to discuss role ...
by David Donnerer
13 Jul 2017 at 1:04am

On July 6th, on the occasion of the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, Energy Cities' President and Lord Mayor of Heidelberg, Eckart Würzner, compared notes with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the role local authorities should play in the governance of the EU Energy Union, a key legislative proposal currently under discussion in the EU institutions. Sub-national action paramount to reach EU 2050 goals
The roundtable was hosted by MEP Claude Turmes and MEP (...)

European Energy Transition Conference - CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
by Béatrice Alcaraz
11 Jul 2017 at 2:37am

In 2018, the European energy transition conference will held in the cross-border conurbation of Greater Geneva.
A major event of energy transition stakeholders, the European conference gathers each year over 3,000 participants during 3 days.
The organisators - Greater Geneva, the Communauté urbaine de Dunkerque, Bordeaux Métropole and ADEME, in collaboration with Energy Cities, have just launched a call for national and international contributions.
This year, the topic of the conference (...)

Energy Efficiency Watch: Learn more about the progress of energy efficiency p...
by Floriane Cappelletti
7 Jul 2017 at 7:56am

You are interested in how the EU is going to meet its energy efficiency objectives but you have missed the Energy Efficiency Watch 3 webinars? This article is for you!
Energy Cities organised a series of webinars as part of the Energy Efficiency Watch (EEW3) to present the outcomes of the project. The project has been accompanying the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) since 2006. In its third phase, EEW3 carried out a broad quantitative survey, complementing with (...)

Just a second...what about the just transition for coal communities?
by Miriam Eisermann, Oana-Mihaela Mihalache
29 Jun 2017 at 3:43am

The path followed by Europe since the Paris Agreement to go ?fossil free' has made coal communities worry about their future. Torn between economic aspirations and climatic necessities, they have been destabilised by these international climate ambitions and Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the agreement. The most recent report by IDDRI examining past coal mining declines in five European countries and the "Indigenous coal in the EU energy transition" report presented by the European (...)

Cities meet Members of European Parliament to discuss contribution to key ene...
by Alix Bolle
23 Jun 2017 at 7:06am

Yesterday, in the margins of the EU Sustainable Energy Week, 5 elected city representatives held an exchange of views with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on the role local authorities should play in the various energy legislative proposals that have been tabled by the European Commission as part of the Clean Energy Package.
Hosted by MEP Claude Turmes, who recently released his draft report on the proposal for a regulation on the Governance of the Energy Union, the event's agenda (...)

Energy Cities launches pan-European study on remunicipalisation and local ene...
by Alix Bolle
22 Jun 2017 at 1:00am

How can cities and communities reclaim control over local energy systems? What are the challenges and success factors for creating a local energy company? What are the links between devolution and remunicipalisation moves, community energy and participative governance? To answer these and many other questions around the rise of local energy ownership across Europe, Energy Cities has commissioned a comprehensive scoping study which will be launched officially today during the EU Sustainable (...)