Ionut Petre
Continuous monitoring and performance analysis in the transition of smart cities towards climate neutrality
The National Scientific Autumn Conference of the Academy of Romanian Scientists (AOSR), themed “The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Romania’s Sustainable Development”, took place in Iași.
In Europe, buildings account for 40% of total energy consumption, 33% of CO₂ emissions, and 70% of the EU’s energy use. A similar impact of greenhouse gas emissions is observed in cities, highlighting a significant yet untapped potential for the development of sustainable economies that are both energy- and cost-efficient. The EU launched the initiative “100 climate-neutral cities by 2030”, where selected cities will serve as models for all other cities aspiring to achieve European climate neutrality by 2050. Measuring the performance of smart cities is essential in ensuring the Net-Zero transition, supported by mature protocols such as the GHG Protocol for Cities, the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP), and Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP).
In Romania, reported GHG emissions per unit of GDP have decreased by 25% in the past decade, thanks to technical and technological improvements, the implementation of national reduction policies, and structural changes in GDP composition. However, this decline has not been uniform across all sectors. Within the energy sector, GHG emissions from transportation increased by 65%, while emissions related to buildings (residential, commercial, and administrative) have also shown an upward trend over the past 10 years. Since these two categories (transport and buildings) are major contributors to urban GHG emissions, the transition towards energy neutrality and climate resilience should primarily focus in this direction.
Adopting an integrated Digital Twin approach enhances strategic decision-making capacity for improving energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions. This solution ensures more sustainable and efficient management of energy resources, supporting national and European climate neutrality objectives.
In this context, we analyze existing integrated platforms that facilitate decision-making in cities within a geographical region, aiming to evaluate, monitor, analyze, and manage energy consumption and production to reduce GHG emissions. We consider a data-driven approach for decision-making in the Net-Zero transition by applying identified policies. The proposed approach takes into account technological innovation, capacity to scale supply chains and support infrastructure, ensuring availability of necessary natural resources, efficient reallocation of capital and financing instruments, demand management and short-term unit cost increases, compensation mechanisms addressing socioeconomic impacts, governance standards, tracking and market mechanisms, effective institutions, commitment and collaboration among public, private, and social sector leaders at a global level, and support from citizens and consumers.
