The contribution of small Municipalities in achieving European 2050 neutrality commitment
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Published:
Dec 27, 2023
Keywords:
Small municipalities, Voluntary planning, SECAP, Covenant of Mayors, Green transition
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Abstract
The National Recovery and Resilience Plan, together with the European Green Deal and the new Leipzig Charter on sustainable cities, has set the "green" transition as a reference for implementing interventions aimed at reducing carbon emissions. This transition was further strengthened in 2022 by REPowerEU, which includes measures on energy savings, diversification of energy supplies, and an accelerated roll-out of renewable energy to replace fossil fuels in homes, industry, and power generation. In response, large cities with populations over 50’000 have accelerated their transition by implementing adaptation and mitigation actions to climate change, in line with the European vision of achieving "net-zero emissions by 2050". However, the contribution of small municipalities (i.e., those with populations below 10’000) towards achieving this vision has only been partially considered. This research aims to highlight the role of small municipalities in achieving the net-zero emissions vision through the European initiative of the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (CoM). In this research, the actions developed by the small Italian CoM municipalities were analyzed, remarking some relevant best practices. The proposed evaluation highlights the effectiveness of the actions in reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable development. The findings of this research represent a contribution in supporting the implementation of decision-making process and identify best practices that can be replicated in other small municipalities.
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SantopietroL., & ScorzaF. (2023). The contribution of small Municipalities in achieving European 2050 neutrality commitment. UPLanD - Journal of Urban Planning, Landscape & Environmental Design, 7(1), 77-96. https://doi.org/10.6093/2531-9906/10635
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Kona, A., Melica, G., Bertoldi, P., Rivas, S., Koffi, B., Iancu, A., Zancanella, P., Janssens-Maenhout, G., & Dallemand, J. (2017). Covenant of Mayors in figures: 8-year assessment. Publications Office of the European Union. doi: 10.2760/64731
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Santopietro, L., & Scorza, F. (2021). The Italian experience of the covenant of mayors: A territorial evaluation. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(3), 1–23. doi: 10.3390/su13031289
Santopietro, L., Scorza, F., & Murgante, B. (2022). Multiple components in GHG stock of transport sector: Technical improvements for SECAP Baseline Emissions Inventory assessment. TeMA - Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, 15, 5–24. doi: 10.6092/1970-9870/8391
Santopietro, L., Scorza, F., & Rossi, A. (2021). Small Municipalities Engaged in Sustainable and Climate Responsive Planning: Evidences from UE-CoM (pp. 615–620). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-87013-3_47
Santopietro, L., Solimene, S., Di Carlo, F., Lucchese, M., Scorza, F., & Murgante, B. (2022). A First Financial Assessment of SEAP Public Energy Interventions Performance Through Municipal Budget (pp. 54–64). doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-10592-0_6
Scorza, F., Saganeiti, L., Pilogallo, A., & Murgante, B. (2020). GHOST PLANNING: the inefficiency of energy sector policies in a low population density region. ARCHIVIO DI STUDI URBANI E REGIONALI.
Scorza, F., & Santopietro, L. (2021). A systemic perspective for the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP). European Planning Studies, 1–21. doi: 10.1080/09654313.2021.1954603
Stahre, P. (2008). Blue-green fingerprints inthe city of Malmö, Sweden. Va Syd, 100. http://medcontent.metapress.com/index/A65RM03P4874243N.pdf
Toreti, A., Bavera, D., Acosta Navarro, J., Cammalleri, C., de Jager, A., Di Ciollo, C., Hrast Essenfelder, A., Maetens, W., Magni, D., Masante, D., Mazzeschi, M., Niemeyer, S., & Spinoni, J. (2022). Drought in Europe – August 2022. In Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, JRC130493.
Trigila, A., Iadanza, C., Bussettini, M., Lastoria, B., & Barbano, A. (2021). Dissesto idrogeologico in Italia: pericolosità e indicatori di rischi. Rapporto 2021. Rapporti 356/2021.
Ufficio Energia Legambiente. (2022). Comunità Rinnovabili 2022.
United Nations framework convention on climate change, 25 (1992).
United Nations. (1997). Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Framework Convention on Climate Change, 24.
United Nations. (2015). Paris Agreement. Conference of the Parties on Its Twenty-First Session, December, 32.
United Nations. (2016). The new urban agenda. In Habitat III (pp. 175–195). doi: 10.18356/4665f6fb-en
United Nations. (2019). Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 333–374). Wiley. doi: 10.1002/9781119541851.app1
van der Heijden, J. (2019). Studying urban climate governance: Where to begin, what to look for, and how to make a meaningful contribution to scholarship and practice. Earth System Governance, 1, 100005. doi: 10.1016/j.esg.2019.100005
Zanon, B., & Verones, S. (2013). Climate change, urban energy and planning practices: Italian experiences of innovation in land management tools. Land Use Policy, 32, 343–355. doi: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2012.11.009