(05 December 2016) – Cities have the opportunity to be the key drivers of decarbonisation, but this will require the implementation of a new bottom-up governance system. A paper, published by Bruegel, outlines a four-step mechanism in order to achieve decarbonisation at city level.
Decarbonisation and digitalisation are reshaping the European energy system, which will become more decentralised and interconnected with other sectors.
In this new context, cities are the key arenas of decarbonisation. However, European Union (EU) energy and climate governance is based on top-down policies that are not complemented by a solid bottom-up system that ensures consistency of EU, national and local measures and incentivises decarbonisation at city level.
This Bruegel Policy Contribution proposes better integration of top-down energy and climate policy mechanisms with new bottom-up incentives that aim to promote decarbonisation at city level.