World Economic Forum and Partners Roll Out New Toolbox to Scale Urban Decarbonisation and Resilience

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by KnowESG
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In collaboration with four prominent organisations, the World Economic Forum introduced the Toolbox of Solutions, a first-of-its-kind platform for urban decarbonisation, at a session on Zero-Carbon Buildings and Cities at COP27.

By 2050, it is expected that 68% of people will live in cities. This will lead to more demand for energy and infrastructure as well as more carbon emissions. Cities play a vital role in the drive to net zero.

Even though most ways to reduce carbon emissions already exist, they are not being used and scaled up fast enough.

To help solve this problem, the World Economic Forum, with the help of its knowledge partner Accenture, is working with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the Basel Agency for Sustainable Energy (BASE), and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to collect global best practices, which will be put together in the Toolbox of Solutions. Together, this group will keep working to spread successful examples and share them with city stakeholders all over the world.

Kristen Panerali, Head of Energy, Materials and Infrastructure Programme, Clean Power, Electrification and Net-Zero Carbon Cities, World Economic Forum, said:

"For urban ecosystems, the solutions and innovations needed to reduce emissions already exist. We know that to shift the climate change trajectory, urban ecosystems and the economy must become far more efficient, electric, and circular. The toolbox contains inspiration from around the world to reduce emissions while also boosting economic development, creating jobs, and improving air quality."

The Toolbox of Solutions includes over 300 case studies from over 150 communities. It allows users to find solutions by conducting a search that is tailored to each city's strategic planning targets as well as specific attributes such as power grid health, population density, and income level. The toolbox offers knowledge and examples of how to reduce emissions while also boosting economic development, job creation, and improving human health through improved air and water quality.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy, said:

"A just, inclusive and equitable energy transition will be impossible without data-driven technologies and solutions. Our collaboration with the World Economic Forum on the Toolbox of Solutions aligns with our existing initiatives, including the SEforALL Knowledge Hub and ‘This is Cool’, which support sharing of knowledge and solutions to accelerate SDG7 and a clean energy future."

The toolkit has been intended to operate in conjunction with the City Sprint process, a workshop series that brings together local businesses and city leaders to find new pathways and collaborations. The purpose of City Sprint is to encourage public-private collaboration by forming a coalition of local stakeholders capable of implementing projects in each city after the City Sprint workshops end.

The World Economic Forum and its delivery partners have conducted over ten City Sprints in the past year and plan to perform additional City Sprints in 2023 with new cities.

“Climate change and its impacts are not bound by jurisdictions and require a collaborative approach. Sharing of responsibilities by players across the spectrum – at various scales of planning and implementation is a key to the path of net zero. NIUA through their collaboration with the Forum is sharing knowledge via the Toolbox of Solutions and leading their own series of City Sprints in India with a focus on mainstreaming climate actions in the local development agenda to enable Indian cities towards a sustainable and resilient future as part of the Sustainable Cities India Program,” said Hitesh Vaidya, Director, National Institute of Urban Affairs.

Source: World Economic Forum

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