“Space is becoming a sparse resource in cities around the world, and to some extent, also in Copenhagen. And this obviously challenges us in the way that we develop the city.”

Welcome to The Urban Question, a special series of the Urban Report podcast from FORESIGHT Climate & Energy in association with Bloxhub, the Nordic hub for sustainable urbanisation and the WRLDCTY forum. 

In each episode, the team at FORESIGHT will try to answer a single pressing question or dilemma at the heart of regenerative planning efforts. Using Bloxhub’s home of Copenhagen as our living laboratory, The Urban Question will also look at how other cities are adapting to the demands of the 21st-century citizen.

For this third and final episode of the series, FORESIGHT’s Sean Carroll explores what happens when cities run out of space. With evermore competition for housing and land for new builds at a premium, how do we accommodate everyone wanting to make a home in a city?

Sean is joined by: 

• Lars Jensen, the Chief Architect for the City of Copenhagen 
• Steven Cornwell, Global Director at ERA, a consultancy that uses data and analytics to unlock the potential of neighbourhoods, towns, and cities. 

Are there new ways we can maximise the space in cities? Or should we be looking in other places to live? Can jobs be transferred to different parts of your country? 

Let us know in the comments below or over on LinkedIn, where you’ll find a community of like-minded individuals working to create a decarbonised economy. 

We have come to the end of our series exploring the Urban Question with Bloxhub and WRLDCTY. We hope you enjoyed it. If you could like, rate, comment, and share the series with your networks, it will go a long way in helping us continue conversations and projects like these in the future. 

Thanks for listening. 

“If you only go for consensus, you're only going to get a short-range outcome; big, long-range thinking is hard. It's not popular.”

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"We have to combine a low-emission building with high-absorption city nature."

Welcome to The Urban Question, a special series of the Urban Report podcast from FORESIGHT Climate & Energy in association with Bloxhub, the Nordic hub for sustainable urbanisation and the WRLDCTY forum. 

In each episode, the team at FORESIGHT will try to answer a single pressing question or dilemma at the heart of regenerative planning efforts. Using Bloxhub’s home city of Copenhagen as our living laboratory, The Urban Question will also examine how other cities are adapting to the demands of the 21st-century citizen.

For episode two, FORESIGHT’s Sam Morgan explores the impact urban growth has on the planetary resources. 

Sam is joined by:

• Samantha Pert, Principal and Head of Sustainability at international design practice Hassell.
• Louise Fiil Hansen, Design Director and Partner at the nature-based design studio SLA. 

They discuss density versus liveability, while ensuring that climate is taken into account throughout the planning process. And they focus on getting local engagement right, so that NIMBYism doesn't derail projects that are good for the environment and society.

How else can we limit the impact of cities on the environment? Can we incorporate green spaces and nature-based solutions into our urban areas, not only to be kind to the environment, but to actually improve our daily lives?

Let us know in the comments below or over on LinkedIn, where you’ll find a community of like-minded individuals working to create a decarbonised economy. 

“Sometimes we don't take the time upfront to have those conversations and get those messages right, and understand the benefit… that will be valuable to different stakeholders.”

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"Human design is and always must be starting from the lived experience of its users."

Welcome to The Urban Question, a special series of the Urban Report podcast from FORESIGHT Climate & Energy in association with Bloxhub, the Nordic hub for sustainable urbanisation and the WRLDCTY forum. 

We aim to explore ideas that drive cities to flourish while addressing the pressing issues of sustainability and decarbonisation. Across the series, we will examine the challenges, trade-offs, and successes that define sustainable cities today through debates with experts who are working to improve the world’s urban areas.

In each episode, the team at FORESIGHT will try to answer a single pressing question or dilemma at the heart of regenerative planning efforts. Using Bloxhub’s home of Copenhagen as our living laboratory, The Urban Question will also look at how other cities are adapting to the demands of the 21st-century citizen.

“With the success of the inner city has come a growing expectation that I can get this in my own neighbourhood at any time.”

For this first episode to explore what makes a model for human-centric cities, David Weston, Editor-in-Chief at FORESIGHT, is joined by two guests: 

• Helle Søholt, CEO of the urban strategy and design consultancy Gehl and board chair of Bloxhub.
• Saravanan Sugumaran, managing director of urban advisory firm Morrow Intelligence.

They look at what human-centric urban design actually means, how it’s being applied in cities today and how citizens are reacting to it. 

How is your city embracing human-centric urban design? And what changes has it brought to your area? Let us know in the comments below or over on LinkedIn, where you’ll find a community of like-minded individuals working to create a decarbonised economy. 

We’ll be back again soon with another Urban Question, but until then, thanks for listening. 

"I think you have to earn the right to use the stick...And that comes with a lot of responsibility, both from the government and from active citizenry."

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During European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s first term from 2019 to 2024, climate change was arguably at the top of the political agenda. The European Commission tabled a huge package of laws aimed at slashing emissions across the bloc, framing the new “Green Deal” as the backbone of a more prosperous European Union. 

Today, things have changed. With Russia's war on Ukraine continuing, military conflict in the Middle East, and trade uncertainty caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs, climate seems to have slipped down the list of political priorities. 

In Europe, the political debate is less about how to urgently slash emissions than how to boost military spending and reduce red/green tape to give businesses an edge in the global marketplace. 

For Green Party politicians across the continent, this poses a problem, both environmentally and politically. How can green politicians marry the need to address climate change with current political priorities? 

“The winds are not in our favour at the moment. We have war on European soil, and that has been challenging for Green parties internationally. We have prided ourselves on our pacifism. To look at people from Ukraine in the eye and say, ‘Actually, we support you in your fight against Russian aggression’ requires a change from ourselves in our approach.” 

Ciarán Cuffe won a seat in the European Parliament in 2019, where he sat with the Greens/EFA group. Cuffe gained a reputation as a dedicated lawmaker, landing the role of chief negotiator on new EU rules to make buildings more energy efficient. However, despite his legislative achievements, Cuffe was not returned as an MEP in the 2024 elections. Today, he acts as the co-chair of the European Green Party. 

In this episode of The Urban Report, Cuffe reflects on his experiences in the European Parliament, whether defence, competitiveness and climate concerns can co-exist politically, his new position with the European Greens, and the role of cities in pushing forward climate action. 

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Given this diversity, what are the steps that we can take to reduce the carbon output of the built environment? 

The Energy Transitions Commission, a coalition of stakeholders advocating for a faster global energy transition, produced a report outlining how we can achieve zero-carbon buildings globally.

The report tackles both the emissions from heating, cooling, and powering buildings—and the carbon footprint from constructing them in the first place. 

“I think from a social justice angle, often the households who are living in the lowest quality, less energy-efficient homes, who will actually see the largest benefits from insulation and other retrofits, are also likely to have lower incomes. So, from this perspective, governments do have a role to play in terms of subsidising these retrofits.”

It outlines actions we can implement today to lower emissions, such as switching from gas boilers to electric heat pumps, and actions that may take longer to achieve, such as scaling low-carbon materials.

On this week’s episode, Min Guan, the Head of Systems Insights at the Energy Transitions Commission, joins Sean to discuss the report’s findings. 

Min outlines how barriers to decarbonising the built environment can be overcome, covering topics such as encouraging the building industry to adopt low-carbon construction materials, unwarranted media criticism of heat pumps, and the role of the state in politically and financially supporting the shift to cleaner buildings. 

“The reason why I'm optimistic is because the buildings transition is much more [than] about decarbonisation: it's about lowering energy bills and also improving air quality and creating a better environment and more comfortable buildings, and as a result of that you will also have the benefits of lower emissions.”

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Post World War II, American cities were the envy of the world. With booming industries, towering skyscrapers, and highways full of cars, US cities symbolised the country’s soaring quality of life. Today, however, the position of American cities has faded—many US urban centres grapple with vacant downtowns, stark inequality, and infrastructure straining under modern demands.

Across the Atlantic, Nordic cities like Copenhagen and Stockholm have pulled ahead, topping global livability rankings thanks to their emphasis on collective goods: efficient public transport, mixed-use neighbourhoods, and climate-resilient design.

Now, Bloxhub, a sustainable urbanisation hub, is introducing US cities to the Nordic urban development model, helping them to address their challenges with Scandinavian strategies. 

“A saying in the Nordics is that people will use the infrastructure you give them. So, when you give them more lanes on the highway, they will be used. If you give them more bike infrastructure, it will be used. So, it's a matter of nudging people in the direction that you want them to go, and they'll probably utilise it.” 

What can US cities looking to rejuvenate their fortunes learn from the Nordic model of urbanisation? And can a model built on shared space and high-trust governance work in a nation focused on car-centric planning and individualism?

Martine Reinhold Kildeby of Bloxhub joins the Urban Report to discuss how trust, collaboration, and "nudging" residents toward greener choices can reshape cities without upending local identities. From Detroit’s experiments with digital mobility solutions to Austin’s energy-efficient building retrofits, Nordic approaches are set to revitalise American urban areas.

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“There are many factors which contribute to the housing crisis. Maybe it is a lack of supply, a lack of new buildings. But in fact, I think it is also a lack of smartness—smartness in how we really use our existing housing stock," Oliver Rapf, the Executive Director of the Buildings Performance Institute Europe

For people across Europe, purchasing a property seems like a distant dream—urban housing costs are often multiples of the average salary, making affordability a serious problem.

Political parties have proposed various solutions to the housing crisis, including rolling back sustainability regulations on buildings. This, they argue, will “unleash” the construction sector, making it easier to build a large number of cheap homes. 

Opponents of this strategy argue that it would significantly impact greenhouse gas emissions, exploding Europe’s carbon budget. Over the long run, when the added expense of higher heating and lighting bills is factored in, these homes may also be more expensive than originally promised.

“We definitely have the knowledge to solve the housing crisis and the political will, in my opinion, is emerging… A sustainable and affordable housing plan will improve the livelihood of all European citizens.”

The term “sufficiency” has additionally entered the debate—the concept that existing building space, if used more efficiently, can meet the needs of far more people than it currently does. The rise of working from home, for example, has altered the occupancy rates of offices, leading in some cases to their conversion to residential units.

To discuss how we can tackle Europe’s housing crisis without exacerbating the climate crisis, the concept of sufficiency, and more, Oliver Rapf, the Executive Director of the Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE), an independent think-tank, joins The Urban Report.

“Our limits are not defined by the structure which we have, but simply by our creativity. And I think that there are many architects, developers with a vision out there who can make a difference if they are provided the opportunity by the municipalities.” 

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The energy used to heat, cool and power buildings is responsible for 28% of energy-related carbon emissions globally. Reducing the energy consumed in buildings, therefore, is an effective way to mitigate the climate impact of the building stock.

Installing power-efficient lighting, improving heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, and introducing smart building solutions will not only cut climate-harming emissions but can save building owners significant costs through lower utility bills. The addition of solar panels and battery storage can further lower a building’s carbon footprint.

However, these energy-saving measures are often expensive to install, requiring a sizable upfront investment which may be outside of the reach of some building owners.

To address this, an “Energy as a Service” approach is proving increasingly popular to make it easier for building owners to cover the initial capital investment necessary to make their building more energy efficient. Essentially, the cost of the installation is financed over time by the savings generated by the energy efficiency measures themselves. 

The approach has already been implemented in sites around the world. In the Javits Convention Centre in New York City, German engineering company Siemens installed the largest rooftop solar array and battery storage system ever seen in Manhattan. When finished, the centre will have more than 2000 solar panels, allowing it to primarily use cheap, clean energy.

Constantin Ginet, executive vice president of sustainability at Siemens Smart Infrastructure Buildings, joins The Urban Report to discuss how Energy as a Service can help lower buildings' carbon footprint by blending the costs of greater energy efficiency with the financial reward.

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Across Europe, the housing crisis is being felt deeply. Young people in particular are frequently unable to buy or rent a home close to their job or social ties, oftentimes leaving them stranded in their family home. 

For the first time, the EU has taken on the challenge of the housing crisis, tasking Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with providing solutions.

While a slew of potential fixes are being considered, conservative politicians argue that the EU itself is partially responsible for the housing crisis, pointing the finger at environmental regulations crafted in Brussels. These green rules, they say, are making it expensive and difficult to build, preventing the market from meeting demand.

The key to solving the housing crisis, they claim, is to slash climate regulations on the construction and real estate sectors, which will help to unleash a wave of new construction.

However, a new report by independent climate think tank E3G finds that housing sustainability and affordability are not opposing forces, but rather can go hand-in-hand. 

The report examined the housing situation in two  European nations - Denmark and Poland - and found that EU legislation is playing a crucial role in ensuring that investments flow towards sustainable and affordable housing stock.

Weakening regulation, the report states, would risk market confusion and could slow progress, making the crisis even worse.

E3G’s Roxana Dela Fiamor, one of the report’s authors, joins the Urban Report to discuss how Europe’s climate and housing crises can be addressed in tandem.

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In Spain, the effects of climate change are shockingly apparent: cities across the Mediterranean country have seen property destroyed, lives lost, and urban areas devastated as a result of extreme weather and wildfires. 

For local governments, the need to make their cities more resilient to phenomena like flooding, water scarcity, and forest fires is becoming more acute. Whilst adapting to these threats, city leaders are also tasked with urgently ramping up actions to cut climate-harming emissions.  

One city that has a long history of taking sustainability seriously is Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of the autonomous Basque Country region. In 2020, the city was crowned the greenest in Spain. It was also the recipient of the EU's European Green Capital Award in 2012 and the UN's Global Green City Award in 2019. 

The Basque capital is known for its extensive array of connected parklands that circle the urban core, its efforts to shift to a more circular economy, and its embrace of sustainable mobility, including adopting the famous “superblocks” concept to calm traffic and prioritise pedestrians. 

Aitor Zulueta, the director of the Climate Change office in Vitoria-Gasteiz, joins the Urban Report to discuss the future of local sustainability. 

Zulueta touches on the need to act now rather than endlessly strategising about how to cut emissions in the future, the city's efforts to implement climate adaptation measures, and how local governments can be more receptive to the needs and desires of climate-concerned citizens.

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When it comes to why people opt for a petrol or diesel car over an electric vehicle (EV), one of the most common reasons is that the cost of an electric vehicle is still too high. However, new charging technology is set to bring down the total cost of EV ownership, making the switch to cleaner vehicles more attractive. 

Flexible charging allows drivers to cut the expense of recharging by waiting until electricity prices are at their lowest. More advanced smart charging technology will soon enable drivers to use their car’s battery as a store of energy, selling electricity back to the grid when needed.

According to a new report produced by industry body Eurelectric and accounting and consultancy firm EY, drivers of large electric vehicles in Germany could earn up to €2900 a year by selling electricity back to the grid.

The report also finds that by providing flexibility when energy generation is low and demand is high, EVs can essentially help to balance the grid—a necessity as the  proportion of renewable energy grows

Serge Colle, EY’s Global Power & Utilities Leader, joins the Urban Report to discuss the benefits of smart charging, the charging challenges facing urban dwellers, and the barriers to shifting to a more flexible charging system.

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The Trump administration has rapidly undone much of the country’s climate mitigation progress. In contrast, many local and regional leaders are determined to do more. Commissioner Brigid Shea of Travis County, Texas, joins the Urban Report to discuss how cities are responding to the abrupt change in US climate policy

Donald Trump has been in the White House for less than 100 days but, already, the United States is witnessing sweeping changes in the government’s approach to climate change. 

While the Biden administration invested significant resources into climate mitigation measures, Trump has gutted federal climate action, essentially abandoning efforts to lower US emissions. 

As he did in his first term, Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 Paris Climate Accord, meaning the US now joins Iran, Libya and Yemen as the only countries outside of the agreement. In addition to halting climate funding, the new administration has scrubbed information about climate change from government websites. 

Despite the federal level turning its back on the climate, local leaders in the United States are committed to achieving a low-carbon future. In cities across the US, climate measures continue to be rolled out. Local and regional governments are doing their part to mitigate climate change and adapt to its consequences. 

On this week's episode, Brigid Shea, a Commissioner in Travis County, Texas, joins the Urban Report to discuss how cities are handling the new administration’s abdication of climate action.  

Brigid has long championed climate action in the City of Austin, and currently serves as the US Board Chair of ICLEI USA, a city network that works with local governments to make urban areas greener. 

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While science fiction’s predictions of flying vehicles may not have materialised yet, innovations in the field of transport have changed how we get from A to B.

The range of mobility modes on offer in our cities today would seem futuristic to people from a few decades ago, such as driverless metro trains, semi-autonomous vehicles and app-activated electric scooters.

In addition to cutting journey times, innovation can help to reduce emissions by offering cleaner ways to transport goods and people.

However, from a governmental standpoint, simply knowing which solution to adopt can be a challenge—each new innovation promises an improved mobility future, though not all are capable of delivering.

For city leaders, investing in unproven innovations can be costly and even harmful if they don’t live up to their promises. Yet, shunning innovations favouring the status quo, while a safe option on paper, can also lead to missed opportunities.

So how can local governments foster a culture of mobility innovation whilst protecting themselves from risks? And what role can innovative mobility play in addressing the climate challenge?

A panel of mobility experts sought to answer these questions at the Tomorrow Mobility World Congress, held as part of the Smart City Expo.

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Across Europe, the number of young adults living with their parents until an older age is rising, thanks largely to soaring housing prices. Between 2015 and 2023, the cost of renting or owning a home in the EU increased by 48%. 

For the first time, the European Union is stepping in, with the European Commission unprecedentedly expanding its energy portfolio to include the issue of housing. Commissioner Dan Jørgensen is tasked with making housing more affordable across the bloc, utilising EU funds to ease the path for young people to move out of their childhood bedrooms. 

However, Jorgensen is not only responsible for making homes cheaper—he must also make them greener, promoting the decarbonisation of Europe’s building stock. 

This poses a challenge, as typically energy-efficient homes command a higher price on the market. Part of the promise for those who renovate their homes, particularly in urban areas, is that it will add to the property's value. 

So, how can these two objectives be met simultaneously? How can homes be decarbonised, whilst made more affordable? 

BLOXHUB, an organisation based in Copenhagen that aims to create more sustainable cities, explored this issue in their report Building Equity: Housing as a Key to a Low-Carbon Society. It found that housing affordability and sustainability are not mutually exclusive.  

To discuss how equity and green solutions can coexist, BLOXHUB’s Ditte Lysgaard Vind joins the Urban Report. 

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Buildings are responsible for around a third of the European Union’s energy-related emissions, making them a prime target for green measures. To reduce the built environment’s carbon footprint, recently agreed EU legislation requires a portion of the bloc’s buildings to be made more energy-efficient.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) requires EU countries to renovate the 16% worst-performing non-residential buildings, such as offices and municipal buildings, by 2030 and, by 2033, the worst-performing 26%. When it comes to homes, member states are required to reduce energy usage by 16% by 2030.

The passage of the EBPD through the European legislative process was far from smooth, with several countries pushing back against what they saw as an overreach from Brussels. Countries such as Italy were concerned about the expense of renovation obligations, while Germany saw moves to introduce heat pumps in favour of fossil-fuel boilers as overly prescriptive.

Now that the political debate has concluded and the law is moving to implementation, local, regional and national authorities must align the elements required to make the law a success. This includes achieving buy-in from locals, providing access to financing and ensuring enough professionals are available to physically implement the works.

To aid with this, Efficient Buildings Europe, an industry association, recently released an implementation guide for the EPBD. The document outlines ways that EU countries can not only meet their EPBD targets but surpass them, helping to lower energy bills and improve living conditions for citizens.

Rémi Collombet of Efficient Buildings Europe joins the Urban Report to discuss the EPBD implementation guide and how addressing Europe’s leaky buildings can make the continent more competitive and resilient.

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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has found that the world is not on track to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. It warns there is a “rapidly narrowing window to raise ambition and implement existing commitments”.

In 2024, the Financial Times reported that businesses are stepping back from their green ambitions, missing or dropping climate targets and toning down their public promises to do more on the environment.

This lack of progress contradicts climate scientists’ warnings: Failure to mitigate the problem now will lead to increasingly unstable and damaging weather in the future.

Given the stakes, how do we ensure that attention remains on the climate and that policymakers win the consent of their citizens to enact more ambitious environmental measures?

Speakers from the Italian cities of Bologna and Verona, the Chilean city of Peñalolén and the Moldovan city of Străşeni met at the Urban Transition Mission’s Global Innovation Summit in Brussels to identify barriers and possible solutions to achieving a climate-neutral future.

They cited cities as areas where climate action can rapidly advance, arguing that local leaders are more ambitious than their national counterparts.

Joining Sean on this special live episode of the Urban Report are:

• Anna Lisa Boni, the Deputy Mayor of Bologna, Italy
• Carolina Laytao Álvarez-Salamanca, the Mayor of Peñalolén, Chile
• Cristina Smolenschi, the Vice-Mayor of Străşeni, Moldova
• Tommaso Ferrari, the Ecological Transition and Mobility Councillor of Verona, Italy

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Every year, millions of people from around the globe flock to the Spanish city of Barcelona to experience its sunny weather, world-famous architecture and delicious cuisine. By some estimates, the city receives around 32 million visitors annually, making it one of the most visited cities in Europe.

However, with this success comes significant challenges. 

In addition to the strain millions of extra visitors place on public services, many apartments are being transformed into short-term rentals making it more difficult for locals to find a long-term place to live. The overall effect exacerbates housing affordability, an issue that has already pushed locals away from the city’s historic core.

While tackling this housing crisis, the city is also implementing measures to renovate its building stock. As well as reducing emissions, the city wants to ensure that the buildings in which people live and work remain cool in the face of increasingly regular and growingly extreme heatwaves. 

One idea is to use tourism to help fund the city’s climate transformation, utilising a tax on tourists.

Barbara Pons Giner, the CEO of Barcelona Regional, a public strategic planning agency, joins the Urban Report to discuss Barcelona’s progress in building renovations, how the city is tackling short-term tourist rentals, and whether visitors and locals can live in harmony.

Editor’s note: this is the last episode of the Urban Report for 2024. A big thank you for listening over the past year! We look forward to continuing the conversation on decarbonising our urban areas in 2025.

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While climate measures that cover a nation must be applicable in settings that are urban and rural, rich and poor, and of diverse geographies, city-level measures can be far more tailored to local challenges, allowing progress to be made more quickly.

Bristol in the southwest of England, a university city that is home to around 483,000 people, has set itself an ambitious climate goal.The United Kingdom has a deadline of 2050 to reach climate neutrality. Bristol wants to end its global warming impact by 2030.

To do so, the council has partnered with the private companies Ameresco, a cleantech integrator, and Vattenfall Heat UK, a district heating developer. 

The public-private partnership, known as “Bristol City Leap”, seeks to boost the level of renewable energy used in the city, expand Bristol’s district heating network and increase the renovation rate of the city’s building stock, enhancing energy efficiency. 

Bristol City Council and Ameresco each own half of the venture, with Vatenfall as the primary subcontractor. It promises over £1 billion of investment into Bristol’s energy system throughout the scheme, with thousands of green jobs created in the local community.

James Sterling of Ameresco joins the Urban Report to discuss the evolution of Bristol City Leap, the realities of managing a large-scale public-private partnership, and the community reaction to the city’s ongoing climate transformation.

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While reducing emissions is a global goal, the means of doing so inevitably varies by region. Climate mitigation measures must adapt to diverse contexts, making one-size-fits-all solutions difficult to apply. 

The built environment provides a particularly salient example of how drastically approaches can differ across the globe.

In Europe, it is not uncommon for people to live and work in buildings constructed many decades, even centuries, ago. The continents’ built heritage has a cultural and historical value which translates to older buildings being restored rather than demolished (with some notable exceptions).

This means that much of Europe’s efforts to cut emissions from its building stock revolves around renovation—improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings.

In Japan, by contrast, homes are generally constructed to last for only 30 years before being demolished and rebuilt. This approach of tearing down and rebuilding is partly due to the ever-present threat of destructive natural disasters facing Japan, such as earthquakes, but it is also tied to the culturally-important concept of impermanence.

As a result, the European approach of widespread renovations is less important in the Japanese context, as many buildings are not intended to be standing in a century’s time.

So, given their diversity, what can Europe and Japan teach one another about decarbonising the built environment? This episode of The Urban Report features a roundtable discussion with built environment experts hailing from Denmark and Japan. 

Claus Mathiesen of Urban Partners, Signe Kongebro of Henning Larsen Architects, Jakob Norman-Hansen of BLOXHUB and noted Japanese architect Jun Mitsui join the show to examine the cultural differences in the approach to sustainability in the Nordic countries and Japan, and what it will take individually and collectively to meet our climate goals in the built environment. 

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Carbon markets, where polluters pay for their carbon emissions, are being increasingly used by regulators to spur industry and rein in greenhouse gas emissions. In the European Union, plans are afoot to extend the bloc’s carbon trading system to road transport and buildings, with the expanded carbon market due to become fully operational in 2027.

However, many in the real estate sector have not yet factored the cost of carbon into the value of their properties, leading to concerns that energy-inefficient buildings are currently overvalued.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) recently released a report on voluntarily embracing carbon pricing principles. For jurisdictions that do not have a state-run cap-and-trade system, a voluntary carbon market can allow companies to put a tangible cost on greenhouse gases. These funds can then be ring-fenced by the company to make climate-friendly improvements.

The report provides recommendations on how to start implementing a carbon price, which the authors say will help real estate companies align their financial and strategic interests with climate goals. Adopting a voluntary carbon price also ensures companies are kept from being caught flat-footed by new regulations.

Lisette van Doorn, the CEO of ULI, sat down with the Urban Report at the C Change Summit in Barcelona to discuss decarbonising the real estate sector, the implementation of voluntary carbon markets, and what Van Doorn would like to see from the EU’s new Energy and Housing commissioner. 

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Freiburg is widely considered Germany’s environmental capital, earning the moniker “Green City” thanks to its sustainability principles. Mayor Martin Horn joins the Urban Report to discuss the city’s environmental ambitions and how Europe can avoid succumbing to “destructive frustration” in politics

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While much of climate legislation is agreed upon in national capitals or by international bodies like the EU, most of these laws are implemented in cities.  

This means that local and regional governments need the right staff, with the right expertise, to ensure measures are achieved on time and to budget. However, cities often need help attracting and affording staff with the necessary skills to realise diverse climate legislation. 

According to a 2022 study, some 214,000 new local employment positions will be needed to enact the EU’s 2030 green targets, at a cost of around €16 billion per year. 

In a recent letter, several European city networks call on newly re-elected EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to change how local governments are financed, arguing there is a need for “an urgent rethink of Europe’s funding of cities and regions”. 

Claire Roumet from Energy Cities, a local government network and a signatory to the letter, joins The Urban Report to discuss how local governments are funded, the difficulties cities have in attracting staff, and the future of climate policy from an urban perspective. 

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A new transport plan in the Irish capital aims to cut car traffic by 40%. The move is part of a broader effort to make city living more pleasant by reallocating space to walking, cycling and public transport. Felijn Jose, a Green Party councillor in Dublin, joins The Urban Report to discuss the past, present and future of the city’s sustainable urban mobility

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Households across Europe are unable to pay their energy bills, leaving occupants afraid to cook warm meals or turn on the heating in cold weather. Louise Sunderland of the Regulatory Assistance Project joins The Urban Report to discuss the measures in place to tackle energy poverty

Millions of people across Europe are stuck in energy poverty and unable to afford or access adequate warmth, cooling, lighting, and energy to power appliances. As our weather becomes more extreme due to climate change, subjecting people to freezing or overly hot temperatures in buildings can have serious health consequences, particularly for the vulnerable or elderly. 

The issue of energy poverty was exacerbated in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which saw the prices of gas and oil skyrocket. Many households suddenly found that they could no longer afford their energy bills. 

However, energy poverty is a systemic issue, one that was ongoing before Russian troops crossed the Ukrainian border and one which persists today. The European Union has proposed several measures to address the issue, from greenlighting subsidies for energy bills in times of crisis to making homes more energy efficient through renovations to helping people choose cleaner energy sources. 

Louise Sunderland of the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) joins the Urban Report to discuss energy poverty, steps lawmakers are taking to tackle the phenomenon and what more we could do. 

Interested in learning more about the topic? Read Louise Sunderland’s report for RAP on EU measures around energy poverty and check out this FORESIGHT article from Sean Carroll. 

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It’s predicted that artificial intelligence and machine learning will fundamentally alter our societies in the coming decades. Rahul Chillar from Siemens Smart Infrastructure joins The Urban Report to discuss how these digital technologies can be used to cut energy usage and reduce emissions in our built environment

The impact artificial intelligence (AI) is set to have on the world has been compared to the introduction of electricity.  

Commentators, technologists and engineers of all stripes believe we’re at the cusp of a technological revolution in which computer systems will be able to make decisions using human-like intelligence. This evolution could fundamentally reshape how we live and work. 

This technology is already being deployed in a variety of sectors, including the built environment. 

Building managers need to manage a range of processes—from heating and cooling to water and energy usage to waste management—to ensure smooth building operation. 

But what if we could use AI to make buildings run more smoothly? What if our buildings could largely manage themselves by making autonomous decisions based on data analysis? And what if doing this would not just cut the costs of running a building but also lower its carbon footprint? 

Engineering firm Siemens has introduced a platform that uses AI-based algorithms to make intelligent adjustments to building operations. This, Siemens says, can reduce energy consumption across the built environment. 

Rahul Chillar of Siemens Smart Infrastructure joins The Urban Report to discuss the digitalisation of our building stock, the benefits and potential pitfalls of AI, and how technology can make buildings more efficient. 

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Currently, around 40% of energy consumed in the EU is used in buildings, producing over a third of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. 

The recently updated European Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) aims to improve these figures by making buildings less energy-intensive and more comfortable places to live and work. Its goal is to set the EU on a path to a fully decarbonised building stock by 2050.

Politically, the law faced a difficult passage, becoming a lightning rod for local fears about Brussels's power. In Italy, rumours abounded that the country’s much-cherished cultural heritage would be subject to incredibly costly renovations.

Now that the dust has settled and the law is in place, the focus has shifted from policy wrangling to implementation. Making the law a reality will require sustained political will, an array of knowledgeable construction professionals and adequate funding.

Eva Brardinelli, Buildings Policy Coordinator with Climate Action Network Europe, joins The Urban Report to discuss the next steps for the EPBD.

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While buildings aren’t particularly associated with personal health, homes and offices can have a significant impact on our well-being. 

Living in a damp building prone to mould, a home with poor indoor air quality, or spending sustained periods in an uncomfortably hot office building can greatly affect occupants’ quality of life over time. 

A recent analysis by VELUX and the Buildings Performance Institute Europe looked at the issue of “healthy buildings” in Europe. It found that renovating the building stock can have remarkable health benefits: occupants concentrate better, healthcare costs are lowered and negative mental health issues are improved. 

Renovation also lowers buildings' climate impact, reducing energy consumption and making them more resilient to the effects of climate change. 

Julie Kjestrup, Head of Policy and Thought Leadership with VELUX and President of Efficient Buildings Europe, joins the Urban Report to discuss how to make our buildings healthier, roll out EU legislation to boost building renovations and what the threat of wavering political support for the greening of our building stock means for the energy transition. 

Enjoy the show and leave your thoughts below. 

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Across Europe, Green political parties are struggling to make electoral inroads, partially due to the perception that climate measures are financially burdensome for average people.

The notion that the environmental movement is championed by the well-off, those unbothered by electricity bills, carbon pricing or the cost of clean technology, has led to a political backlash. This was observed in the recent European Parliament elections, in which the Greens lost seats to the right of the political spectrum.

Ensuring a “just transition”, in which the costs of moving to a carbon-neutral world do not fall on the most vulnerable, is seen as a means to ensure greater societal buy-in for the climate movement.

The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) has examined the just transition in eight global cities.

For two years, the IHRB investigated the impacts of built environment decarbonisation policies, including renovation programmes, retrofit subsidies and new energy-efficient buildings, determining whether these measures were alleviating inequality.

Giulio Ferrini, Head of Built Environment with the Institute for Human Rights and Business, joins The Urban Report to discuss climate action and equity in cities.

Enjoy the show and do leave your thoughts below!

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City advocates have argued for years that the actions of local governments will determine if we meet our climate goals. To help them be successful, local governments must be recognised as vital actors in the climate transition and should be supported with funding, expertise, and greater autonomy, it is asserted.

This push to give cities a more prominent role in climate politics is encapsulated by the concept of “multi-level governance”.

Giorgia Rambelli, director of the Urban Transitions Mission, joins The Urban Report to discuss multi-level governance and the role of local governments in meeting climate aims.

Enjoy the show and do leave your thoughts below!

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