27 June 2012: IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven has published an article on urban energy policy design. The article, published in Sustainable Cities 2012, outlines the need for city planners to develop urban policies to meet the sustainable energy challenge in policy areas such as zoning, transportation, energy efficiency in buildings and energy generation, distribution and delivery.

Writing “Cities lie at the centre of the energy challenge; making sound urban policy is key to the solution,” van der Hoeven stresses that city planners must develop policies to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse bass emissions and increase energy generation. With cities consuming more than 60% of the global energy demand and home to more than 50% of the world’s population, she outlines the importance of effective links between national, regional and local needs for energy policies, along with the need for a cross-sectoral approach when conducting impact analyses. The article also underscores the importance of capacity building, transparency and stakeholder involvement to achieve effective implementation of policies. [IEA press release][Sustainable Cities 2012 website]