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RE-energizing Cities event in Quito Parallel event at UN Habitat III Conference in Quito, Ecuador, on 18 October 2016, co-hosted with Germany, Ecuador, and the UAE Launch of IRENA s Renewable Energy in Cities report Panelists and speakers included mayors (e.g. Vancouver, Kasese, Bonn), national level policy makers, and international organisations 200-300 people in attendance throughout the day Outcome document for the day was shared online New Urban Agenda adopted in Quito, with renewable energy mentioned 5 times in the document 2
Strong growth in urban energy use More than half of all people live in cities and this share is rising 65% of energy use is concentrated in urban areas More than 90% of urban citizens is exposed to significant air pollution from energy use 3
Renewable energy in cities: market and technology perspective Energy efficiency has been a focus area for cities for some time, but this is not enough Significant RE deployment opportunities exist that can contribute to achieving the Paris Climate Agreement IRENA has identified three priority areas for accelerating renewables in cities Renewable energy in buildings Sustainable options for transport Creating smart integrated urban energy systems Bottom-up analysis based on energy use of 3 500 cities, distinguishing growth rates, population density, climate differences 4
Continued growth in cities energy use to 2030 REmap analysis shows wide range in 2030 energy demand outlook Cities will account for 70% of the total primary energy supply by 2030 Based on IRENA REmap estimates 5
Renewables account for 20% of urban energy use today 1/3 transport energy, 2/3 building energy Today most RE use in buildings, and much less in transport Direct RE use and renewable electricity purchases Total 123 EJ/yr (excluding industry) Source: IRENA analysis based on IEA (2016) 6
Heating ~50% of urban building energy use in 2030 Large part of global urban energy demand will continue to be for space heating in cold climates, much of which in existing buildings Based on IRENA REmap estimates 7
Large increase in energy use for cooling Number of A/C units to increase to 1.6 bn in 2030, from 0.9 bn today Cooling will represent 8% of buildings energy use in cities by 2030 Source: Shah et al. (2015) 8
Benefits of renewables to cities Welfare and health: Reduce air pollution and noise pollution in cities Cheaper energy services Mitigate climate change cities are the main source GHG emissions and main victims of climate change (rising sea levels, severe storms, flooding, heat island effect etc) Additional positive effects to the economy; Positive GDP impact Create jobs Improve overall welfare of citizens 9
Options to expand renewables use in urban buildings Heating/cooling Electrify heating - Heat pumps Solar water heating and solar cooling Biomass boilers Renewable district heat/cooling Replace traditional biomass with modern renewables or electricity for cooking Renewable electricity supply Rooftop and building integrated PV Buy renewable electricity from the grid Renewables for transportation Electric vehicles Biofuels Modal shift 10
Priorities to expand renewables use in urban buildings Risk of stranded assets: Loss in construction value of inefficient buildings that need to be deeply retrofitted (preliminary estimates indicate stranded assets in building will greatly exceed those in other sectors) For established cities: Ensure renewables friendly renovation of the existing building stock Especially in cities with high population density and existing piping systems, cost-effective to expand RE in district heating For emerging cities: Focus on strengthening building codes, scaling up NZEB For new city developments (e.g. malls, offices) in hot climates, oftentimes efficient to include in plans (RE) district cooling systems 11
The challenge of the existing building stock Limited growth in building stock in Europe / North America Majority of global construction will take place in Asia Pacific 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 North America Source: Navigant Research Total building stock by region (floor space in billion m2) Western Europe Eastern Europe 2013 2023 Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East Africa 12
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045 2046 2047 2048 2049 2050 The challenge of the existing building stock In 2050, half of the building stock consists of buildings that already exist today In many regions standing stock will dominate for decades: a retrofit priority floor space, billion m2 300 Global building stock evolution 250 200 150 100 50 0 Existing buildings already today Existing stock - residential Existing stock - commercial New buildings - residential New buildings - commercial Based on IRENA REmap estimates 13
Priorities to expand renewables use in transport Further increase use of EV, biomethane and hydrogen (e.g. for buses) Complement with liquid biofuels, but consider environmental impacts Prioritise electric mobility: Electric public transit and 2/3 wheelers especially effective for high pop. density cities 4 wheelers mainly for cities with lower pop. density and congestion Ensure integration with urban planning (e.g. infrastructure) Utilize sector coupling opportunities: electric vehicle battery storage to accommodate higher shares of variable renewable electricity 14
Role of IRENA in supporting renewables use in cities Increasing knowledge on policy and regulatory frameworks and integrated planning for renewables Capacity building at the municipal level Providing tools and information on technology solutions Identifying best practices and replicable innovative solutions for renewables in cities 15
Questions How can exchange of experiences and best practice on renewable energy deployment be facilitated by IRENA? What partnerships / initiatives should be formed or leveraged in support of advancing the urban sustainable energy agenda? Considering IRENA s 20162017 Work Programme and activities to date, how should the Agency ramp up support to cities given their important role in energy transitions? 16
THANK YOU! 17
Energy efficiency focus for buildings Numerous international initiatives underway in buildings sector; main focus on improving energy efficiency 18
Towards sustainable urban transport Modal shift in cities to sustainable transport modes (public transport, walking, cycling) needs to be encouraged further Source: IRENA analysis based on UITP (2015) 19
Role of IRENA in supporting renewables use in cities Various platforms, networks, initiatives on sustainable cities IRENA focus: accelerating RE deployment in cities around the world 20
Electric mobility provides further potential Beyond modal shift, more potential to accelerate electric mobility Reduces air pollution, and can be coupled with RE power Stock of electric 2/3 and 4 wheelers, million units 2/3 wheelers 900 4 wheelers 500 1.3 235 60 160 Reference Case REmap 2015 2030 Based on IRENA REmap estimates 21