Figure 1 – Spatial disaggregation of CO2 emissions from the residential sector. These emissions are distributed proportional to population numbers. Please note that the values here are strictly exemplary.

LOCALISED aims to provide climate action plans at a community-relevant, local administration decision scale for all the EU27 countries. As a result, a major part of the work carried out within the project involves spatial disaggregation of country-level decarbonisation trajectories to a regional level.

In a nutshell, spatial disaggregation methods aid in increasing the spatial resolution of the data. These methods employ proxy data, available at a fine resolution, to distribute the data available at a coarser resolution. A simple example of this process is shown in Figure 1. Here, the  emissions from the residential sector are spatially disaggregated based on population numbers.

Figure 2 – Workflow involved in the disaggregation of decarbonisation trajectories and provision of all the data collected in the process through the LOCALISED data-sharing platform.

The decarbonisation trajectories [1] involve several attributes on various themes such as sectoral emissions, electricity and heat generation, sectoral electricity and heat demand, etc. The spatial disaggregation of the plethora of attributes requires collection of spatially highly resolved data on various themes such as demography, local climate conditions, infrastructure status, road and rail networks, landscape features, etc. Moreover, this data is required for all the EU27 countries.

A one-stop, open-source database that provides data at a fine spatial resolution of NUTS3 [2] or finer Local Administrative Unit (LAU) [3] resolution for all the EU27 countries is required to spatially disaggregate the decarbonisation trajectories.

Due to lack of such a database, we are building our own. To that end, we collect, process, and curate data from different public databases at NUTS3, and where possible, LAU spatial level. We plan to make this database openly accessible via our data-sharing platform. What’s more, the spatially disaggregated decarbonization trajectories will also be published via this platform. Figure 2 shows the entire workflow leading up to the data-sharing platform.

We believe that the data-sharing platform will be indispensable to energy system modelers, researchers focusing on mitigation and adaptation measures at a regional scale and local administrations, across the EU.

A pilot version of the LOCALISED data-sharing platform is planned to be released to the public in July 2023. An update regarding the access and usage of the platform will follow soon.

References:

[1] https://www.localised-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/LOCALISED_D2.1_Decarbonisation_scenarios.pdf

[2] NUTS – GISCO – Eurostat (2021). NUTS – GISCO – Eurostat, 2021 [Dataset]. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata/reference-data/administra-tive-units-statistical-units/nuts (accessed Nov. 23, 2022).

[3] GISCO – Eurostat, “LAU – GISCO – Eurostat,” 2020. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata/reference-data/administrative-units-statistical-units/lau (accessed Nov. 23, 2022).

The first phase of the stakeholder mapping has been completed: all LOCALISED partners have been involved in identifying the most relevant stakeholders to be engaged in the first phase of the project. Up to now, the focus was mainly on the interactions with the “wise” group, i.e., people whose expertise in local decarbonisation procedures and adaptation plans is extremely helpful to co-design the tools.

The identification of relevant stakeholders followed a precise methodology, starting with developing the stakeholder mapping matrix. This matrix collects all the necessary information about the selected stakeholder, including: name, contact details, title/position in the institution, gender, and variables related to her/his company (e.g. organisation name, country, activity type, sector of expertise, and geographic coverage). The process of mapping started with a desktop research in which all LOCALISED partners were asked to add all relevant stakeholders, and it was extended through snowball sampling activities. 

A first analysis of the composition of the “wise” group was performed by T6 Ecosystems and the results highlighted the need to enlarge the sample in terms of sector of expertise, activity type, geographic coverage, and to reach a gender balance. Then, bilateral discussions with WPs Leaders who are engaging stakeholders from the “wise” group took place to determine specific persons or categories to include in the mapping. As a result, a further in-depth analysis was done in correspondence with specific WPs, which led to the actual composition of the “wise” group (74 members) that was satisfactory for all the partners. Indeed, stakeholders from 14 different countries were identified, revealing a heterogeneous composition, while others come from European or global institutions. Most of them operate at the supra-national level (57.6%), but there are also organisations with national (19.7%), regional (6%), and municipal coverage (16.7%). There is equilibrium also regarding the distribution over activity types, i.e., academic organisations (21.9%), private companies (17.8%), and public institutions (26%) are all relevant, and there is also a smaller portion of members from the civil society (9.6%). In the end, gender balance was almost reached among the “wise” group (56.4% are male and 43.6% are female).

More information is available in the “Initial insights from stakeholder interaction following the LOCALISED methodology” (D8.4)

Political awareness is finally recognizing the significance of building renovation in Mediterranean areas as climate change stretches energy vulnerable households. Nevertheless, without entitling the intermediate sections of decision making with usable information, the real necessities get lost in the data void. 

Nowadays local data from energy consumption patterns, urban morphology, accessibility, economic distribution, among others, are easily generated but poorly organized and interpreted by their owners. There is an urgent need to deploy tools to link the different household multidimensional data, as well as to extract knowledge from them at a local level. Plus, being able to compare and visualize the impacts of applied measures is key to identifying the urgent causes and to achieve time & cost-effective decisions. 

The RETABIT project emerges from this pressurized reality to try to relieve local authorities in regard to data management, situation reporting and actuation paths. Thus, the objective is to create a bottom up process data driven service platform, which facilitates the evaluation of urban areas and their potential to renovation through building retrofitting, for the park decarbonization.  The platform can help the stakeholder to have a better understanding on identifying critical and vulnerable groups of buildings at a local level; besides it can allow for prioritization of the retrofitting actions linked to the renovation wave, considering different optimization criteria, from economics to human wellbeing.

RETABIT uses a grey box simulation engine that processes real data to calculate energetic, economic and social outputs for the actual building park situation, while it also predicts the future scenario after implementing a pack of retrofitting solutions. Furthermore, these outputs are designed to feed a series of KPIs in line with the Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework. These would help platform users to monitor, interpret and gather valuable information for the city records.

Throughout the process, the RETABIT platform’s methods and tools will be applied in demonstration scenarios with the participation of the regional government, relevant stakeholders, and end-users from Barcelona municipalities. RETABIT, is an empowering renovation instrument, which La Salle (University and technology center) and the LOCALISED partner IREC (Catalan Research Center) have been elaborating since 2021. To this day, the project’s development is halfway through.   

More information can be found in the following link: https://retabit.es

Measures introduced in Barcelona City – LOCALISED partner – since 2015 to boost sustainable mobility and cut the number of vehicles generating emissions have led to better air quality and a 31% reduction in air pollution. The growth of the bike lane network, the rollout of the superblock project, the switch to electric vehicles for the municipal fleet and the implementation of the low emission zone have demonstrated the effectiveness of a model which prioritises people’s health and environmental sustainability.

Data collected from air quality monitoring stations in the last eight years show a steady drop in NO₂ emissions. These measuring points making up Catalonia’s air-quality monitoring network are managed in the city by the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB) and can be consulted online on the Barcelona air quality map.

The stations are located at strategic points which represent the areas with the highest volumes of traffic (traffic stations) and the areas with the lowest intensity of traffic (general stations). A reduction in air pollution has been observed in both cases:

• Traffic stations: NO₂ emissions averaged 55 points in 2015, while this year’s figure puts them 28 points, a drop of 31%.
• General stations: NO₂ emissions at these stations averaged 38 points in 2015, while this year’s figure puts then at 25 points, a drop of 34%.

A healthier and more sustainable city model

The improvement in air quality comes after the city embraced measures to change its urban planning and mobility model. The reduction in the last eight years is not the result of one specific measure, but rather a set of coordinated steps with common goals.

A key factor in promoting sustainable mobility has been the new orthogonal bus network and the expansion of the metro network as far as La Marina. The growth in the bike lane network has seen this reach 240 kilometres in all, resulting in 56% more bike journeys and over 58,000 new routes.

The changes to the urban environment have also helped incentivise journeys on foot, with more friendly streets and more space for pedestrians. The implementation of the Barcelona Superblock and the “Protecting Schools” programme have transformed key spaces for neighbourhood life, with significant improvements in health and air quality thanks to the reduction in traffic.

The activation of the Low Emission Zone (LEZ) has meant a reduction of 600,000 journeys by vehicles which pollute the most. The gradual switch to electric vehicles for the municipal fleet of the City Police and cleaning and waste collection vehicles has also helped cut pollutant emissions.

The COVID-19 crisis has changed the dynamics of some jobs, with the implementation of teleworking maintained since the return to normality. Estimates put the percentage of the population teleworking before the pandemic at 4%. The forecast is for that figure to double, with a stable teleworking population of up to 8%.

The LOCALISED partner, CMCC has published a paper in the journal of Frontiers in Chemical Engineering where it has developed a game theoretical framework to analyse and understand the interaction among the key players in the EU’s climate and energy policy making domain in case emerging technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere such as direct air capture (DAC) becomes commercially available.

The model is capable of adjusting for different energy market conditions such as the monopolistic behaviour of Russia while supplying natural gas to the EU as well as the growing reliance of major EU countries such as Germany on domestic coal.

The game theory model considers two scenarios of full-cooperation among the EU member states and full-competition among them. It reveals interesting some insights into how carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies can affect energy security and climate change policies at the EU level.

First, if the natural gas markets are competitive and not dominated by one major player such as Russia, cooperation or competition among the EU member states will not change the incentives to deploy considerable levels of DAC to achieve climate stability targets. Nevertheless, full-cooperation among the EU member states means stronger incentives for climate change mitigation and therefore, less reliance on domestic coal, the most polluting source of energy. However, in the absence of alternative renewable energies, less coal means more natural gas and more dependency on foreign energy sources.

Second, if the natural gas market is dominated by a major player like Russia, the decisions of the EU member states to coordinate and align their climate and energy policies can influence the foreign supplier’s choice of natural gas export price. In this case, full-cooperation sends a strong signal to the supplier that the EU is committed to reducing its GHG emissions and therefore, replacing dirtier domestic coal with cleaner imported natural gas. This motivates the supplier to set a higher price for natural gas in this case but at the same time encourages the Eu to invest more in DAC to reach its climate targets. Competition among the EU member states on the other hand, forces the monopolistic supplier to offer lower gas prices to dissuade the EU countries from switching to domestic coal. In this case, DAC deployment is reduced as the stringency of any EU climate policy is jeopardised by competition among member states to meet their domestic energy demands.

In short, this analysis highlights the need for aligning the development of emerging mitigation technologies such as DAC with local mitigation and energy procurement efforts in achieving climate stabilisation targets.