Portugal’s mayor of Porto and vice president of energy cities, Filipe Alajo explores the role of resilient cities in achieving European energy and environmental goals.
With the new EU institutions in office, the main discourse appears to have shifted from EU green trading to competitiveness.
This new story illustrates both challenges and opportunities for European cities. We want our territory to flourish, but this cannot happen at the expense of our health and safety.
A resilient local economy for competitive Europe
A thriving city is a place where the wealth of community is. The needs of its residents will be met by local economic officials, if possible.
This will help strengthen the local economic system and social ties, helping the local economy withstand the crisis situation. Resilient cities are a prerequisite for the competitiveness of the EU.
This community wealth approach applies to many sectors, but I think it’s very effective when it comes to energy. Nowadays, few people question the need for more renewable energy to be delivered to the grid, not just to combat climate change, but to ensure that businesses (both businesses and citizens alike) have access to energy at a relatively stable and affordable rate, regardless of geopolitical context.
However, if you want to speed up your Res Deployments, you need to make sure everyone is participating. In-In-Backyard’s actions (Nimby) are still not the reality facing many local leaders.
According to experience in Porto, local ownership of renewable energy is not only a way for cities to deal with Nimby, but also address energy poverty and contribute to a thriving local economy.
Community Energy to Address Porto Energy Poverty
Therefore, Porto plans to include around 12% of local government buildings, as well as all municipal social housing in its community energy projects. 6MW of solar power is installed to provide clean electricity for vulnerable families at a low cost.
Some projects are still bid, but some are already in the implementation stage. For example, the Agra Do Amial District energy community has been active since May 2024, already providing renewable energy to its members, with roughly 50% of the energy generated being consumed by vulnerable families.
Our ambitions are high, but we cannot ignore many of the challenges we face. There are some that are common to many European municipalities.
Cities often lack staff and financial resources to lead participatory processes. In many cases, citizens who are extremely difficult to engage in (such as vulnerable households) are involved and informed communities on energy-related issues. This, combined with the complexity of such topics, makes our work even more difficult.
Furthermore, burdensome management processes and challenging legal frameworks at the national level can halt innovative projects and prevent citizens and small businesses from participating. When we founded Porto’s first energy community, it took us two years to get a social housing unit connected to the solar panels we installed.
Utilizing local ecosystems for a more resilient Europe
Fortunately, there are solutions to ensure that communities can help contribute to a more resilient and democratic Europe.
Aside from ensuring that the law is properly transposed so that everyone in Europe can benefit from the same energy rights, we need capacity building programs and develop a local one-stop shop to notify/engage citizens about the opportunities and energy literacy programs available to them.
To achieve this, cities need access to funds and the fundamental integration between the various initiatives at all levels aimed at increasing renewable energy deployment (and energy security).
Another important aspect is ensuring multi-level governance so that cities are not only asked to implement, but can participate in decision-making regarding what is related to them.
Over the coming period, the new European Commission will tackle new civic energy packages, develop clean industrial transactions, and reform EU cohesion policies. This provides a unique opportunity to align the EU approach with its energy and environmental goals and competitiveness by establishing appropriate governance mechanisms and focusing the necessary resources accordingly.
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