Author: Izaro Basurko
The corona crisis is affecting poor and precarious communities the hardest. It puts a spotlight on the disastrous impacts of austerity, social security cuts and privatised health care systems all over the world. A working public sector is clearly essential to ensure universal access to good health care. Now more than ever, we need to join forces to drive democratic alternatives that foster a just and healthy future.
That’s why mPOWER continues to work towards publicly-owned energy systems that are fair, clean and democratic. This is the goal of our first digital course on best energy transition practices for municipalities that is starting in April. Did you miss the chance to sign up? There are still seats free for the two other courses in September this year and February 2021. You can sign up here.
We share some positive information in times where the news is mostly bleak, with our blog posts and podcasts from energy transitions all over Europe. It also includes the first academic study about the municipalities that are participating in mPower’s Exchange learning stream.
Do you work for a municipality and want to make our European cities more climate friendly? Please share this information with your relevant networks!
Image Credit: Barcelona En Comú on Flickr
Why is Burgas called the “best city to live in Bulgaria”? How does Niš deal with the challenges of public-private partnerships in the energy sector? And how did Barcelona manage to become a frontrunner in the European just transition?
Our mPOWER blog series, now consisting of ten articles, brings you to different cities across Europe, to find out how they are mastering a green and democratic transition to renewable energies. Read all our inspiring articles here.
How can an old industrial city become carbon neutral within only 10 years? In the second episode of the energy cities podcast, Suvi Holm from the Finish city Tampere gives us insights into the workings of the municipality’s environmental company that is not for profit.
In Cadiz, a new local government was elected in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. Since then, the city has opened the energy politics to its citizens. This was a first radical step, and there are many more to come. In the third episode of the podcast, Alba del Campo explains why and how they managed to make affordable and sustainable energy such a key topic in Cadiz.
Find all our podcast episodes here.
Where do European municipalities stand with regards to the energy transition? What are the difficulties they face? A new academic study sets out to answer these questions, by surveying 27 diverse cities that are participating in the mPower Exchange project.
The study makes compelling correlations, exploring whether cities with a higher budget for an energy transition and a larger staff are more successful. It also looks into the share of energy consumed in the residential sector and asks whether cities really need a lot of energy in order to have a high economic performance and a better living standard.
Download the study here.
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