January 2016: The Habitat III Thematic Meeting on Sustainable Energy and Cities concluded that massive deployment of low-carbon energy in the world’s cities is needed, and resulted in the ‘Abu Dhabi Declaration for Habitat III: Sustainable Energy and Cities,’ which underscores that sustainable energy must be a core focus of the New Urban Agenda to be adopted at the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2016.

The meeting recommended policy, technology and financing commitments, covering such energy sectors as electricity generation, building and appliance codes, transport, heating and cooling, and waste-to-energy. Ministers, national and city government officials, researchers, and private sector and other civil society representatives articulated how the New Urban Agenda can accelerate the uptake of sustainable energy solutions and align with climate and development goals.

The meeting, which convened on 20 January 2016, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), was organized as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, an annual gathering on clean energy and water, which brought together over 30,000 delegates from 160 countries, and was hosted by the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The meeting follows the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 7 (Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all).

Speaking at the event, Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated that cities are the most critical arena for climate action, and added that energy policies, such as mandatory green building codes, are no longer just environmentally responsible, but financially attractive. Adnan Amin, Director-General, IRENA, stated that, while the Paris Climate Agreement and the SDGs have set “a vision on energy and climate,” a sharp focus on specific policies, financing models and technologies are needed. He noted that the meeting provided a consensus on what is feasible for cities, setting quantitative sector-specific ambitions based on breakthroughs in renewable energy and low-carbon technologies.

Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, said Habitat III must be a turning point in the way cities use and consume energy. He urged educating urban stakeholders about market opportunities, and assisting them with meeting the right suppliers, advisors and investors to realize their energy and climate goals. He emphasized the importance of integrating local and municipal authorities in decision making in achieving climate goals.

The Abu Dhabi Declaration recognizes the importance of: taking a holistic, system-wide and pro-poor perspective; integrating sustainable energy considerations into city planning and management; and developing a nexus approach in the urban context, such as in the integrated management of energy, water, waste, transport and food. It also acknowledges the need for closer cooperation among cities, utilities and national and subnational governments.

The Declaration highlights various actions that provide examples of effective ways to pursue sustainable energy objectives at the local level that can be endorsed by the New Urban Agenda, inter alia: promoting city-level renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy access targets for all sectors that contribute to achieving SDG 7 and targets contained in countries’ intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs); developing integrated, city-scale energy and emissions plans; introducing solar water heating requirements; establishing a protocol to map/identify major waste heat sources and high heat and cool demand in cities; establishing mandatory and enforced disposal fees for municipal solid waste; enacting mandatory minimum energy performance standards, ratings and labels for energy efficiency in buildings, equipment and appliances; implementing energy efficiency measures in buildings that reduce fossil primary energy; using non-fossil fuel-based transport; using planning measures to improve density, compactness and street connectivity; enacting energy pricing regimes; and implementing sustainable energy public procurement policies.

The Declaration also, inter alia: encourages national, regional and international networks and partnerships to advance sustainable energy solutions; recognizes the urgent need for innovative financing approaches, such as city-owned revolving funds; encourages governments to mainstream sustainable energy investment objectives in national development banks and publicly-capitalized green investment banks; recommends committing to non-technological measures that support behavior shifts; recognizes the importance of community engagement and education; and calls for incorporating the gender dimension of sustainable energy in urban planning.

The Declaration will contribute to the Habitat III preparatory process and the formulation of the New Urban Agenda. Habitat III will provide the opportunity to discuss the challenge of how cities, towns and villages are planned and managed in order to fulfill their role as sustainable development drivers, and shape global development and implementation of climate change goals.

In preparation for Habitat III, a series of regional and thematic meetings are being organized to develop the agenda, with a focus on potential commitments. The Asia-Pacific regional preparatory meeting for Habitat III took place in October 2015, and the Africa regional meeting took place in February 2016. The regional preparatory meeting for Europe will convene in March 2016, and for Latin America and the Caribbean in April 2016.

The Habitat III preparatory process also includes a series of seven thematic meetings taking place from September 2015-April 2016. In addition, a series of informal meetings over the next few months will culminate in PrepCom3, which will take place from 25-27 July 2016, in Surabaya, Indonesia. The Habitat meetings are convened every 20 years. Habitat I was held in Vancouver, Canada, in 1976, while Habitat II convened in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996. [Thematic Meeting on Sustainable Energy and Cities Website] [Habitat III Thematic Meeting Press Release] [Abu Dhabi Declaration for Habitat III: Sustainable Energy and Cities] [Habitat III Website] [Regional and Thematic Meetings] [IISD RS Story on the Asia-Pacific Preparatory Meeting] [IISD RS Story on Africa Regional Meeting] [IISD RS Story on Habitat III Preparations, Inclusive Participation] [IISD RS Story on Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week]