energy efficiency  

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As a key pillar in the fight against climate change and a reliable means of reducing energy costs for citizens and cities, energy efficiency is a priority for our members.

Cities are continuously working towards improved energy efficiency by:

• refurbishing public buildings;

• incentivising renovation of private buildings where possible;

• improving public transport and overall urban transport management;

• investing in more energy efficient heating and cooling, such as through district heating and cooling, and seasonal thermal storage;

• increasing energy efficiency of public lighting, for instance through the installation of LED lighting;

• supporting, developing and installing renewable energy within city boundaries, such as energy from waste, biomass, solar, ground/air/lake/sea source and more.

A crucial issue for the EU

Energy efficiency is also one of the priorities of the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and for the transition to a resource efficient economy. Better efficiency helps ensure security of energy supply, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. By 2020, the EU wants to reduce primary energy consumption by 20%.

Cities recognise the central role they play in achieving this goal. On the one hand, 80% of energy in Europe is used in cities. On the other hand, a well-managed urban concentration reduces transport distances for people, goods and energy, and provides potential to increase the energy efficiency of heating and cooling.

EUROCITIES action

We support our members and the EU in achieving their energy efficiency goals. We foster exchange of best practices, we provide input to EU energy efficiency policy, and we play a key role in a number of relevant European initiatives, such as the Covenant of Mayors, CASCADE, NiCE, the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign, EPOMM-PLUS and CIVITAS.

Our Declaration on Climate Change outlines our cities’ commitment to reducing emissions, including through energy efficiency. Moreover, driven by members’ ambition, we steer our Green Digital Charter, which creates a framework for cities to use ICT as a main driver to improve energy efficiency.