Empowering Cities for a Net Zero Future

On 22 July 2021, International Energy Agency (IEA) released the SmartCities report – Empowering Cities for a Net Zero Future

• How can governments enable cities to reach national netzero emissions targets?
• How can smarter sustainable cities use digital tools to achieve netzero pathways?
• How can big data and digital technologies help to manage city services more efficiently?
• Which digital solutions can improve cities’ energy resilience, stability and efficiency?

These are some of the key questions explored in the new IEA analysis Empowering cities for net zero future.

“Increasing generation from distributed renewables, reducing the use of fossil fuel resources, and the electrification of transport and heating all require a broad portfolio of flexibility options, posing new challenges but also creating new opportunities for the management of energy infrastructure. National and local governments, together, are well placed to implement a broad range of innovative policy, financing and technological solutions that will support inclusive, flexible and resilient net-zero energy transitions in cities.”

It builds on extensive consultations with over 125 leading experts and organisations, and presents case studies from 100 cities in 40 countries. The examples illustrate the wide range of opportunities and solutions that can help city-level authorities make use of efficient and smart energy systems.

The report is available for free on IEA website: https://www.iea.org/reports/empowering-cities-for-a-net-zero-future