Photo: group work at the climate conference, © Maria Piermayr/ Gemeinde St. Stefan-Afiesl

In October 2024, ÖGUT colleagues moderated and provided expert support in the climate conference of St. Stefan-Afiesl, a small rural municipality in Austria. 

Counting around 1100 inhabitants, St. Stefan-Afiesl is a member of the “Zukunftsorte” association, a platform of 15 innovative Austrian municipalities that see themselves as pioneers in local development. Citizens of the Zukunftsorte are now to be increasingly involved in the implementation of climate protection measures. For this reason, the municipal council of St. Stefan-Afiesl has decided to invite the population to a climate conference in order to develop and prioritize measures to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

All residents could help decide which climate protection measures are feasible for the municipality and have a say on which ones would be implemented. 

As a preparation for this conference, ÖGUT collected the relevant local data in advance and examined reduction measures that are within the the responsibility of the municipality. The data collection revealed that the “biggest chunks” of energy consumption in St. Stefan-Afiesl are to be found in car operation and heating. Around 40,000 kilowatt hours are consumed per household per year.

The conference was structured around these questions: “How can climate protection become a win-win situation for us, where we save money and CO2 at the same time and perhaps also live a little healthier? How much reduction in our energy consumption do we dare to make and how could we go about it?”

The ÖGUT team provided various proposals for reducing energy consumption which were then discussed and further developed by the citizens. . Here are some examples: 

• Mobility: if every household were to reduce 15 car journeys per year to the next bigger city Linz or organize them differently (in a car pool or by bus), 10% of consumption could be saved by 2030 in the area of car operation alone.
• Housing: The renovation of around 60 houses could reduce energy consumption in this area by around a tenth.
• In all other areas selected for the climate conference – e.g. travel and food – large savings are also possible with comparatively little effort.

The conference was a great success and received very positive feedback from the participants.  A follow-up meeting between the facilitation team and the municipal government  is scheduled for the end of November, aiming to move forward on the implementation of the climate conference’ results and deciding on concrete next steps to take for the Municipality of St. Stefan-Afiesl. 

This activity provided very relevant insights for the LOCALISED project, as several citizen engagement practices provided in the Citizen Engager could be tested and the results will provide relevant learnings to be integrated into the tool.

Caption for pictures: Municipality of St. Stefan Afiesl, October 2024. Photos: © Maria Piermayr/ Gemeinde St. Stefan-Afiesl

Photo: opening speech of the mayor at the climate conference, © Maria Piermayr/ Gemeinde St. Stefan-Afiesl

On November 7th, LOCALISED participated in the 2024 Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC), sharing insights and solutions designed to support cities in their decarbonisation efforts. This presentation aimed to share innovative solutions with a wide range of professionals, gather valuable feedback, and explore opportunities for future collaboration.

The SCEWC is the world’s largest and most influential event for urban innovation, which brings together leading companies, governments, and organisations from around the globe to empower cities in overcoming today’s most pressing challenges. This year, LOCALISED had the opportunity to preview its tools under development that aim to make decarbonisation at the local level more actionable and measurable. Presented in the Agora of Barcelona City Council, the presentation created a space for insightful feedback and collaborative opportunities.

Ramon Canal from the Barcelona City Council opened the LOCALISED session, emphasizing the critical need for innovative decarbonization tools that can support cities in creating, monitoring, and achieving climate adaptation and emission reduction plans. Jordi Pascual and Enric Mont from the Catalan Energy Research Institute Foundation (IREC) took the stage to delve into the project’s progress. In particular, they introduced three upcoming tools aimed at transforming local climate strategies:

1. The Climate Action Strategiser (CAST): This smart tool is designed to help local administrations meet the European Commission’s 2050 net-zero targets through customised, case-specific measures aligned with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) frameworks. It provides city-specific decarbonisation plans with actionable steps.
2. The Citizen Engager: A dynamic platform tailored to foster citizen participation in climate policy, aiding the enrichment, implementation, and evaluation of climate policies.
3. The Net-zero Business Consultant Tool and Sustainable Business Canvas: These tools offer targeted guidance to businesses, assessing climate vulnerabilities and offering sector-specific strategies for achieving net-zero. 

Overall, the project underscored its commitment to equipping cities with practical, locally-tailored solutions to climate change. Through tools that emphasise community engagement, actionable strategies, and sector-specific guidance, LOCALISED is set to empower cities in the global effort toward sustainability.

On the 28^th and the 29^th of October, Gerard Martínez Görbig (University of Twente) was invited to join the workshop “Barriers and Enablers for Urban Climate Governance: what is hampering the transition toward carbon-neutrality in European cities”. The event was held in Barcelona, organised by Lorenzo Chelleri, Eloïse Deshayes (Universitat Internacional de Catalunya), and Joe Ravetz (University of Manchester), within the context of the Urban Resilience Research Network.

In the workshop, seventeen passionate researchers and the three organisers worked together interactively, sharing their insights on exploring the barriers to achieving carbon neutrality in European cities to establish common perspectives for further exploration of the topic. The workshop started on Monday afternoon with a series of keynotes from relevant speakers. It continued with roundtable work, during which the participants tried to brainstorm and map out challenges to achieve carbon neutrality. On Tuesday, the work continued, establishing synergies within the group, creating new research opportunities and strengthening the topics’ knowledge.

The workshop helped participants to have an overarching perspective on barriers and enablers to carbon neutrality. Moreover, such an interactive event allowed the researchers to identify synergies within their work and create working groups for further research in the upcoming months.

The results will help have a more comprehensive idea of what can make climate action feasible, adding an important contribution to the work of the University of Twente in the project LOCALISED.

From October 15th to 17th, our team gathered for an intense yet rewarding three-day project meeting in Vienna. With a packed agenda, we dove deep into the progress and future direction of our LOCALISED project. The atmosphere was one of collaboration, problem-solving, and renewed energy as we moved closer to achieving our project goals.

Day 1: Setting the Stage and Diving In

We kicked off the first day with a team-building exercise that set the tone for open communication and teamwork. The icebreaker helped bridge gaps between new and existing team members, ensuring we started on the right foot.

Afterwards, we jumped into project discussions, with activity leaders presenting objectives, current challenges, and open questions, while referencing the upcoming sessions for further discussion. 

One of the key highlights of the day was the session on the LOCALISED Climate Action Strategiser (CAST). We reviewed its development, explored its links to other project activities, and strategized the next steps for data integration. The day followed up with the Social Impact Assessments (SIA) presentation, where a thorough literature review is currently taking place, and by parallel working groups focused on tackling specific data challenges and integration tasks.

In the evening, we enjoyed a social dinner at the traditional Viennese Heurige “Zwölf Apostelkeller.” The casual atmosphere fostered great conversations and helped strengthen our team’s bonds.

Day 2: Deeper Discussions and Problem Solving

The second day of the meeting saw us diving even deeper into the technical aspects of the project. We began with a group session on finalising our interdisciplinary project glossary, a crucial piece for ensuring that we are all speaking the same language. The session on LOCALISED data was particularly insightful, as it addressed our hurdles we have been facing, from data quality and integration challenges.

Very fruitful was the presentation of the Citizen Engager development: the results from the testing activities with vulnerable groups in the city of Barcelona  were promising. The following working group sessions allowed us also to collaborate intensively on targeted issues. Moreover, in the dedicated sessions we discussed how to proceed in terms of scientific output and organisation and participation in specific events to spread the knowledge about our tools and results. 

The day ended with a wrap-up of the ongoing work, and many of us opted to join a sightseeing walk through Vienna, ending at the famous Prater where we enjoyed amusement park games. The evening was also filled with good vibes thanks to the live music provided by some of our talented LOCALISED members.

Day 3: Closing with Concrete Next Steps

On the final day, we started with an inspiring session organised by our project partner, the Department of Energy Planning of the City of Vienna , where local city officials shared valuable insights on Vienna’s climate policy and ongoing implementation projects. This local perspective offered fresh ideas that could feed into our project’s broader goals.

The rest of the day was packed with strategic planning, from the presentation of the upgrade of the Net Zero Business Consultant to methodologies for adjusting pathways. Another collective discussion and group work ensured we have a comprehensive view of LOCALISED impact moving forward.

At the end of the day, we focused on communication and exploitation activities, identifying the next steps for promoting the project results and capitalising on the progress made so far. Before closing, we gathered feedback from all the consortium to reflect on the discussions and outcomes of the previous days.

Each session built on the discussions from previous days, ensuring that we left with clear next steps for tool development, stakeholder engagement, and outreach strategy. It was clear that we made substantial progress, with many challenges addressed and new ideas taking shape. 

In recent and upcoming years, Europe faces the challenge of fighting climate change and its adverse effects. One of its primary objectives in this effort is to reduce emissions to achieve net zero by 2050. To this end, mitigating measures are being implemented to effectively reduce pollutant emissions, with the energy system being a key element in this process due to the integration of renewable energy sources, extreme climate events, and fluctuating energy demands.

When discussing renewable energy, we often focus exclusively on its benefits. However, it is essential to consider their limitations. Most renewable energy sources are intermittent and cannot be fully controlled, meaning electricity supply may be disrupted due to weather conditions. Climate change and meteorological factors will have a dual impact, affecting the total energy generated and introducing additional risks from physical impacts. Furthermore, as efforts to electrify sectors such as transportation and industry increase to reduce emissions and meet environmental targets, electricity demand inevitably rises. It leads to a growing system with uncontrolled energy generation and increasing demand. Therefore, measures must be taken to prevent blackouts and ensure a stable electricity supply, as more people will be impacted if these needs are unmet.

The intermittency of renewable energy generation requires regions to implement strategies or contingency plans to address potential energy shortfalls. Relying on backup systems that use fossil fuels should be avoided, as this could lead to spikes in emissions, undermining decarbonization efforts. An alternative approach is to incorporate a diverse mix of renewable energies combined with new technologies applied to the grid, such as batteries or smart grids. Smart grids are networks that use digital and advanced technologies to monitor and manage the flow of electricity from various generation sources to meet the fluctuating demands of consumers. It can help maintain a stable electricity supply with low emissions. To ensure an efficient and effective approach, it is crucial to understand the region’s specific resources and circumstances.

In light of the points outlined, it is critical to take action now to ensure that energy systems remain secure and reliable as Europe transitions to a low-carbon future. It is why the LOCALISED project is working to identify the risks highlighted and determine the best measures each region can implement, considering its specific circumstances. The goal is to ensure a safe and resilient electricity supply throughout the transition.