Cities consume over two-thirds of the world’s energy and have a unique role to play in the global energy transition across buildings, transport, heating/cooling, industry, and power grids (IEA, 2021).
Cities can and must play a key role in the transition from a linear, centralized, fossil-fuel energy system to a hybrid model of centralized and decentralized, renewable, smarter, and integrated energy systems. Compact, energy-efficient cities with strong public transport have a strong potential to reduce energy consumption, as well as associated emissions and other environmental impacts on land, water, and air.
Cities around the world have already begun to take measures to reduce their consumption and related costs and emissions, but efforts will need to accelerate to keep pace with population growth and the rapid climate change. Alongside mitigation, cities need to strengthen the resilience of their energy systems and find solutions to counter risks related to highly centralized, non-adapted energy systems. Due to climate change, cities will face risks from sea-level rise, heat, increases in tropical cyclones, storm surge, intense rainfall, and coastal flooding.
UNEP supports cities in developing and putting in place policies and enabling frameworks to accelerate the energy transition and encourage the use of alternative energy sources, in line with the objectives of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7).
UNEP’s District Energy in Cities Initiative supports market transformation efforts to shift the heating and cooling sector to energy efficient and renewable energy solutions. The Initiative is working with industry and cities around the world, including Egypt, Chile, India and others, to identify, assess and tender bankable district energy projects based on international best practice.
