Smart Climate Cities

While cities contribute to a large degree to CO2-emissions globally, they also face the effects of rising temperatures. In the EU, this increasingly encourages municipalities to develop “smart” solutions for urban infrastructures and their integration. Right now, there are several pilot projects run in Baltic and German cities. The Baltic Dialogue Platform on smart solutions for urban infrastructure acted as a link between these projects and encouraged other cities to invest in the strategic planning of smart cities.

The project followed a twofold goal: first, it promoted European exchange and learnings on smart cities and climate mitigation by connecting pilot projects from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Germany. The purpose was to exchange best practices from various infrastructure sectors such as mobility, energy and waste management, water, and their mutual integration. Second, it provided insights into climate-efficient governance structures and methods for developing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems that can be used to mitigate the impacts of climate change and for smart cities to promote effective climate action.

view on green roof top; photo: adelphi

• International exchange of knowledge and experience: A total of 345 experts from local authorities, energy agencies, research institutes, and industry took part in four dialogue platforms and 13 webinars. They exchanged experiences on digital, smart, and climate-friendly urban development and discussed topics such as digital services, open data, mobility, and energy efficiency. The project thus specifically strengthened the participants' skills in strategically and practically advancing municipal transformation processes.  
• Strengthened dialogue and knowledge transfer: Through the publication of three practice-oriented guides, four documentaries, and a scientific article, the project provided high-quality materials to support municipalities in planning and implementing smart infrastructure measures. These resources will continue to have an impact beyond the project period and promote long-term, structured knowledge transfer in the smart city sector.  
• Political and scientific impetus provided: The project brought climate-friendly smart city approaches into the political and scientific discourse in a sustainable manner. It raised awareness of the opportunities and risks of digital urban development and motivated other cities to implement smart city concepts in line with EU climate targets. The project thus made an important contribution to the strategic development of modern, climate-friendly urban policy.