Energy Cities News

Hedegaard backtracks on EU Climate goal
EU Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard yesterday (26 May) presented

a paper making the case for moving towards a unilateral 30% cut in EU greenhouse

gas emissions by 2020. But she failed to stand behind it, bowing to pressure from

France and Germany.
Euractiv, 27.05.2010

Citizens to be at heart of European policy making
A new report published jointly today by the British, Danish and Dutch governments

challenges the way European institutions make decisions and argues that smart EU

regulation must mean that businesses and citizens are put at the heart of all

European policy-making.
InternetActu.net n°257, 14/04/2010

What will be the EU energy consumption in 2050?
By Jean-Michel Glachant, European University Institute
In the EU like elsewhere the amount of energy that will be consumed in the future

is determined as the product of population, wealth and energy intensity. The EU´s

population is expected to remain more or less stable to 2050, according to Eurostat

increasing from 495 million today to 520 million in 2035 and then decreasing to 510

million in 2050. Furthermore, it is reasonable to assume a GDP growth of on average

2% per year to 2050. This then only leaves the energy intensity [MWh/GDP] as

a parameter which can be modified. This can be accomplished by improving the

energy efficiency.
EU Energy policy blog, 28.05.2010

Academics call for `full rethink´ of EU energy policy
Four prominent European think tanks, with the implicit support of a large section

of the European energy industry, have issued a call for a major overhaul of EU energy

policy. `Are we smart enough in the way in which we implement our objectives?´ they

ask. Their answer is: `clearly not´. They have `one vision and 22 recommendations´ to

offer policymakers to make EU energy policy smarter. `Energy policy should be made

Chef-Sache
European Energy Review, 21.04

Countries not spending enough EU regional money
A report assessing member states' use of EU regional funding showed mixed results

across the EU 27, the European Commission said, urging laggards such as Poland

to speed up use of money provided by Brussels.
Euractiv.com, 14.04.2010

CoR launches survey on "Sustainable Energy Policies by EU Regions

and Cities: Good Practices and Challenges"

Covenant of Mayors, 31.05.2010

Britain annonces new energy efficiency push
The UK Conservative-Liberal Democrat government is planning a draft law to boost

energy efficiency in homes and businesses, promote low carbon energy and increase

energy security, confirming several proposals in its coalition programme last week.
Source : Eceee, 26.05.2010

Building Sector Intervention Points
A New White Paper from Architecture 2030 identifies the critical intervention points

for major transformation in the Building Sector.
Newsletter Architecture 2030

Supermarkets - the new drivers of urban growth
Supermarkets have become major players in building and shaping places. Retailers

don´t just want to build a supermarket nowadays. They want to redevelop town centres,

with housing, shopping streets and schools.
CABE News - May 2010

Energy brings South Eastern Europe together
Electricity industry associations such as Eurelectric and the former Union for the

Coordination of Transmission of Electricity in Europe (UCTE) have long claimed that

energy interconnections play an important role in stimulating political connections

in Europe. This is borne out once again as countries in South Eastern Europe have

formed an "Energy Community" which provides them with an important political

and legislative basis for future entry into the EU. In fact, the Energy Community

of South Eastern Europe is in many ways superior to the EU´s own common energy

policy.
Source: European Energy Review, 28.05.2010

Baltic Sea region needs cooperation, not nationalism
The countries around the Baltic Sea would do well to integrate their energy policies

as much as possible with each other. Only in this way will it be possible for them to

integrate large-scale renewable energies, such as offshore wind power, into their

energy mix in an economical way.
Source: European Energy Review, 3.05.2010

Cities in crisis - Report from Hungary
The annual conference of the Hungarian Society for Urban Planning in 2009 contributed

to the better understanding of the diverse aspects of the crisis in the field of urban

planning. The conference held in the town of Siófok provided floor for discussion to find

answers to the questions what could be the possible responses to the economic crisis,

what is the impact of the crisis on the availability of resources for urban development

and what are the potentials in urban-rural relations. The results of the discussion were

summed up in each of these themes to help all the stakeholders of urban planning to

build on the common knowledge and cope with the challenges accordingly. The so called

"Siófoki Agenda 2009" has gained intense media reactions in Hungary.
Source: Blog Urbact, 27.04.2010

City Mayors has today announced the nominees for this year´s World

The World Mayor Prize is awarded bi-annually by City Mayors to a mayor who has

substantially improved the quality of life of his/her citizens. Mayors to be considered for

the Prize are also expected to have developed an understanding of and concern for the

needs of other cities in their own countries and indeed worldwide.

List of mayors shortlisted in Europe:
Maria Emília Neto de Sousa, Mayor of Almada, Portugal
Kyriakos Virvidakis, Mayor of Chania, Greece
Ole von Beust, Mayor of Hamburg, Germany
Stuart Drummond, Mayor of Hartlepool, UK
Gérard Collomb, Mayor of Lyon, France
Ilmar Reepalu, Mayor of Malmo, Sweden
Adeline Hazan, Mayor of Reims, France
Domenico Lucano, Mayor of Riace, Italy
Ivo Gönner, Mayor of Ulm, Germany
Source : City Mayors

Perception survey on quality of life in 75 european cities, Urbact, may 2010
How citizens perceive the quality of life in 75 major European cities? A survey was

conducted by the European Commission in November 2009 to measure the local

perceptions of quality of life in 75 cities (including more than 40 URBACT cities)

in the European Union, Croatia and Turkey. A number of issues such as employment,

environment, housing, transport, culture, city services and immigration are addressed

by this survey.
Link to the publication

Le génie des villes - Rencontres FNAU 2009 - bilingue
Commander en ligne


La démarche ÉcoCités - Villes durables en projet
Commander en ligne

Les villes au coeur de la transition vers des sociétés post-carbone"

in Horizons 2030-2050, Veille de la Mission Prospective du MEEDDM, n° 2, Décembre 2009
Link to the publication

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