In Barcelona confirmation that Kranj is on the right track
The Mayor of City of Kranj, Matjaž Rakovec, has accepted an invitation to attend the 12th Smart City Expo World Congress 2023, where around 25,000 people are expected over three days, including city and business representatives from more than 800 cities from around the world. The Mayor took part in one of the many discussions and presented Kranj's activities in the European missions, how the city card system is progressing, and other measures that Kranj has and will continue to implement to decarbonise and manage the city even more efficiently.
After Tomaž Lanišek, Head of the Office for Development and Smart Communities, presented the digital development and green transition plans of Kranj at last year's Smart Cities World Congress (SCEWC), Kranj has been invited to take part in the world's largest event of its kind, which takes place from 7. The event brings together exhibitors of the most advanced smart city solutions and distinguished panellists - representatives of city authorities, industry and decision-makers - in one place.
The Mayor of City of Kranj, Matjaž Rakovec, accepted the invitation and on Tuesday evening attended a reception hosted by the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni Cuadrado, and today was one of the speakers at the round table 'Creating resilient climate-neutral cities', which discussed overcoming the obstacles to climate neutrality, sustainable urban solutions, citizen involvement in these processes and also the possibilities of financing such projects.
Regarding the 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, the Mayor said that they are currently coordinating an action plan for CO2 reduction and the possibility of implementation by 2030, which is in its final phase and will be the basis for the preparation and signing of the Climate City Contract (CCC), which will informally commit the city to implementing the actions. "We have set up a Green Transition Group with key experts and stakeholders in the different areas where we can achieve emission reductions through different actions - energy, transport, waste management and circular economy, green infrastructure and construction. For the first time ever, we have also started measuring emissions in these sectors and will continue to measure and monitor them closely in the future. The UP-SCALE pilot project is also important, especially for decarbonising transport in Kranj, as is the project to increase local food self-sufficiency, including by jointly procuring food through a dynamic purchasing system in public institutions. This increases the share of locally produced food, especially in schools and kindergartens, and shortens supply chains. The transition to climate neutrality will also be facilitated by the digital solutions we are developing and gradually rolling out.«
Mayor Rakovec highlighted the advantages of Kranj as a mission and pilot city, with tailored advice and support from the dedicated NetZeroCities platform and advisors, "In addition, this offers many opportunities for networking, exchange of best practices between cities and support for citizen engagement in the mission. In Kranj, we intend to actively involve them through our digital platform: this way we will be able to communicate with them, inform them and also raise their awareness towards a more sustainable way of life. The collection and analysis of key data that will flow into the platform will help us to manage the city even better and improve the quality of life in Kranj," the Mayor stressed.
The roundtable was also attended by Anne Weidenbach, Member of the European Commissioner for Energy's Cabinet, who stressed the need to improve energy efficiency as much as possible - focusing on solar and wind energy and reducing the use of natural gas. She stressed that it is cities that can have a key impact on the quality of life of their citizens, including through climate action. Joost Beunderman, from NetZeroCities, a consortium supporting European missions to achieve climate neutrality, stressed how crucial it is for the whole city government to be involved: "Everyone must be working towards the same goal, every new project or the whole city budget must be sustainability-oriented, and the citizens must be involved in this process if we want to make a change for the better."
Around 25,000 people are expected at the Congress in Barcelona these days, including city and business representatives from more than 800 cities from around the world, many of which are also exhibiting - with smart solutions, and best practices for creating safer, greener and more efficient cities. Also on Wednesday, the internationally renowned World Smart City Awards for the most innovative city projects and strategies were presented - with more than 400 entries from 63 countries.
"It's amazing what you can see these days in this huge exhibition centre in Barcelona: ground-breaking ideas and original innovations in the fields of mobility, smart cities, construction and green and blue infrastructure... We will take a lot away from these days in Barcelona, but I am delighted that the Congress is also showcasing many of the solutions and measures we are already implementing in Kranj - from energy renovation of buildings to e-mobility and digital tools. This confirms once again that we are on the right track," said Mayor Matjaž Rakovec.
