European commission _greenexpo

Putting the ‘Smart’ in the Green Economy A perspective from the European

Commission….

Dr. Colette Maloney Head of Unit ICT for Sustainable Growth Information Society and Media Directorate-General

European Commission

EU POLICY OBJECTIVES 3 TARGETS FOR 2020

1.   20% reduction in EU GHG emissions below 1990 levels

2.   20% renewable resources for EU energy consumption

3.   20% reduction in Primary Energy use compared with projected levels, to be achieved by improving Energy Efficiency

a smart green economy •  Smart buildings, smart grids, smart cities, …

enabled by ICT

- data and information - control and automation - dematerialisation

Key issues: - how do we measure the benefits? - how to avoid negative spillover?

EC Recommendation October 2009

•  If we cannot measure and compare data – we are flying blind

•  ICT sector has committed to developing a common framework for measuring the energy and carbon footprint of its entire operations

•  ICT4EE Forum launched by the industry in February 2010

Policy Context

● In Europe 80% of the population lives in cities ● 50% of CO2 is produced in cities

● 80% of energy is consumed in cities

Cities are an ideal test bed for innovative solutions addressing climate change

- in particular the 3 targets for 2020

Policy in the ‘pipeline’: The European Smart Cities Initiative

–  Main Objective: Bring 25 to 30 cities to the forefront of the three European targets for 2020

–  Sub- objectives: •  Take up of energy efficient Technologies by 5% of EU

population •  Reduce 40% of GHG emitted by 2020 •  Effective spread across Europe

–  Main components: buildings, energy networks and transport (SET-plan Roadmap on Low Carbon Energy Technologies)

–  Budget (tbc): between 10-12B € for a period of 2010-2020

Policy Example Green Digital Charter

Launched November 2009 - so far 21 big cities signed up - Intercity partnership on ICT and energy efficiency by 2011 - 5 large ICT pilots per city by 2015 - 30% reduction in their ICT footprint by 2020

● To devise and implement European policy on Sustainable Cities in particular via ICT

● Funding to public and private Research to support RTD on ICT systems for Sustainable Cities

● Funding to public authorities together with technology companies to deploy ICT solutions for Sustainable Cities

Putting the ‘Smart’ in the Green Economy Key points to remember before you start

• Adopt a systemic approach –  Look at the overall ‘green’ effort .. not just your project

–  Be coherent and coordinate on definition of targets

–  Identify and pre-empt risks of rebound and leakages effects

–  Approach every initiative as one building block of the future green economy

Putting the ‘Smart’ in the Green Economy Key points to remember before you start

Adopt a future-proof approach

both in ownership structure and technology choices

–  Ensure that systems and structures you choose today are

compatible with /conducive to expected developments

•  such as growth in Distributed Generation, Micro-generation, Micro

grids and more Renewable energy sources

–  Ensure that your solution and structure can adapt to future

energy savings objectives ( Post 2020 - 2050 ) and evolving

demand

Putting the ‘Smart’ in the Green Economy

Key points to remember before you start

Don’t buy Greenwash •  GREENWASH : unsubstantiated, unverifiable claims •  GREENFACTS : Data from trusted source, units and baseline

allowing for comparison Measure progress towards ‘Green Targets’

•  Wherever possible define specific concrete measurable ‘green’ targets and avoid monetary units

•  Ensure that the framework, procedures and resources are in place to collect the evidence

•  Identify and apply the most relevant and up to date approach to measurement

•  Keep an eye on evolving methodologies and standards for

measurement, evaluations at EU and International Level

Thank you for your attention!

Questions?