Conference review
In cooperation with our partners Energy Cities, the City of Modena and AESS, we offered members and further interested stakeholders a comprehensive programme as part of the Grafting Cities Conference from 18 to 20 October in the City of Modena (IT). Below you will find a review of all Climate Alliance's offerings as well as all available materials
18 October | 19 October | 20 October
Impressions of the conference can be found here:
photos by the City of Modena | photos by Climate Alliance.
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Climate Alliance General Assembly 2023 | 15 – 18
Numerous members and other key stakeholders gathered both online and onsite in Modena for this year's General Assembly. After a review of activities and financial reporting for the past year, current network highlights were placed in the spotlight such as the 20th anniversary of the Green Footprints campaign, Climate Alliance's working groups and the new climate fund for Amazonia. The network also elected new board members and approved amendments to the association's statutes and rules of procedure. This kick-off to the annual conference was rounded off with an informal aperitivo and time for networking.
Thursday, 19 October 2023
The local level in the spotlight | 10:00 – 13:00
Without a green future, there is no future and without a green economy, there will be no economy. This statement was one of the key messages of the morning. After the official welcome and a short keynote on the crucial role of municipalities in climate policy, the first panel invited representatives from Munich (DE), Krizevci (HR), Gran Canaria (ES) and Lecce (IT) to share their experiences on how to implement deep transformation on the ground. The second round focused on just climate action: how can cities and towns make climate policy fair for all citizens? Representatives from Bologna (IT), Essen (DE), Brasov (RO) and Modena (IT) shared their views. The two discussion panels were rounded off by the European perspective as shared by Eero Ailio of the European Commission.
With the Modena Declarations as the session's finale, the cities and networks present supoprted a strong message championing increased recognition of the role of the local level in climate policy, a decentralised energy system and the consideration of the climate crisis as a social challenge. Read the Modena Declarations here.
Climate Alliance Workshop Space | 15:00 – 17:00
Workshop A: Rewriting the adaptation narrative
In this workshop, the City of Modena presented current challenges in the context of climate adaptation including the risk of extreme heat episodes and flooding. In small, interactive groups, participants worked together to develop ideas to combat these challenges. This resulted in creative solutions such as the 3-30-300 rule, which states that at least three trees should be visible from any given window, 30% of a neighbourhood should be covered by tree shade and that there should be a park within a 300 meter radius.
Contributions
- Simone Rottiglia (City of Modena) & Francesca Poli and Marina Malossi (AESS)
The Modena Challenge - Hélène Rizzotti, Alicia Göpner and Max Beijnveled (Climate Alliance)
Rewriting the adaptation narrative
Workshop B: Shaping our built environment
After three short presentations on energy-efficient buildings, the Energy Caravan campaign for renovation consultation and an urban planning project in Maintal (DE), participants of this workshop got to work with collegial consultations. The aim: to jointly develop solutions for municipal challenges. In the first step, municipal hurdles were collected with the questions such as how to make the renovation wave inclusive, how best to communication with citizens and how to not lose sight of the big picture. Afterwards, the participants collected solutions and ideas for each of these challenges – a win-win for everyone involved!
"The EU has a target to increase the renovation rate by 2%, the Energy Caravan reaches a renovation rate of 25%, this is a frontrunner initiative!" – Noelani Dubeta, Climate Alliance's Policy Officer
Contributions
- Sascha Hammes (University of Innsbruck)
EnerPHit for a climate resilient St. Johann - Brice Mertz (fesa e.V.)
DThe Energy Caravan: How municipalities can motivate citizens to renovate their homes - Nina Stiehr (Stadt Maintal, DE)
Concept for climate-friendly district heating in a new development area in Maintal (DE)
Workshop C: Municipal solutions for energy poverty
In this workshop, examples of how to strategically deal with energy poverty were presented from Italy to Croatia to Bulgaria. The participants then discussed two approaches in two interactive group discussions: increasing energy efficiency in buildings and building energy communities.
"Protecting vulnerable low- and middle-income households must be a priority if we want to ensure a just energy transition!" – Andreas Wolter, Mayor of Cologne and President of Climate Alliance
Beiträge
- Eero Ailio (Adviser Energy Transition, European Commission, DG Energy)
Energy Poverty: Exploring the concept and current situation in the EU - Anna Amato (ENEA – National Energy Agency Italy)
Municipalities' role in national energy poverty policies - Diana Paunova-Galeva (SOFENA – Sofia Energy Agency)
How to set up and run an energy poverty office in a metropolitan area - Karl-Ludwig Schibel (Climate Alliance Italy)
Supporting structure for hard-to-reach energy vulnerable households
Workshop D: Real answers – future options
This workshop focused on sustainable measures with real impact such as the introduction of a CO2 price in local procurement, the concept of sustainable energy contracting from the Netherlands or Climate Alliance's new Climate Fund as a way to take real climate responsibility and implement concrete projects in Amazonia. Elena Gerebizza from ReCommon also presented the results of a new study called "The Illusion of Green Hydrogen" in which she pointed out the challenges of this technology, such as production and transport. A final presentation then showcased a concrete example from the Modena region, which plans to use green hydrogen to fuel a new bus fleet.
Contributions
- Miguel Morcillo (Climate Alliance)
DeCarb-Pro: CO2 price for local procurement - Hansjürgen Heinen (Klimaatverbond)
Sustainable Energy Contracting for local authorities - Silke Lunnebach (Climate Alliance)
Climate Fund for Amazonia - Elena Gerebizza (ReCommon)
The Illusion of Green Hydrogen
Friday, 20 October 2023
Learn & Share | 10:00 – 12:00
Lively conversations, thematic exchanges and lots of inspiration over an Italian breakfast – that was the Learn & Share Space in Modena. This marketplace of sorts opened its doors for two hours and offered a wide range of initiatives and projects by and for cities and towns from all over Europe. The topics on offer ranged from energy communities to adaptation measures and nature-based solutions as well as from energy-efficient buildings and awareness raising campaigns to involving citizens and city partnerships for climate action.
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