The seven Spanish capitals that are part of the European Union’s 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission presented their main projects and initiatives at the 2nd International Conference Seville City One, Metropolis of Southern Europe, with the aim of achieving the European targets by 2030 and serving as an inspiration for other cities to follow their example by 2050.
The event, held at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones Sevilla – Fibes 2, brought together more than 450 participants in this second edition, consolidating this public-private initiative as a solid platform for the promotion and modernisation of the city and its metropolitan area as a prime destination for investment, thanks to its great potential as a modern and innovative city.
URBANEW, cities to inspire the rest of Europe
The day included the organisation of various thematic round tables, including URBANEW. Innovative solutions for urban regeneration, attended by representatives of the seven Spanish capital missions – Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Valladolid, Vitoria Gasteiz, Seville and Zaragoza.
Representatives from some of the seven Spanish capitals selected for the Mission were present at the II International Conference Seville City One, the Metropolis of the South, which has committed to developing a pilot project called URBANEW, which aims to promote systemic change and ensure that the residential, commercial, public and private building sectors reduce their carbon footprint and become energy efficient.
For her part, Minerva Salas, Seville City Council’s delegate for European Funds, Urban Agenda, Sustainability and Strategic Plans, stressed that “Seville currently has a City Climate Agreement whose main objectives and actions include decarbonisation, promoting sustainable mobility, implementing sustainable resource management practices, promoting innovation and technology, ensuring social inclusion and strengthening citizen participation. This plan aims to transform Seville into a greener, more inclusive and more resilient city by 2030,” said Minerva Salas.
The agreement with Seville includes an investment of 1747 million euros.
URBANEW, as part of the Seville Mission, is designed to provide a real insight into the difficulties faced by citizens and other stakeholders in implementing energy retrofitting of homes in a meaningful way, in order to achieve greater comfort, reduced consumption and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The main examples he cited were the Municipal Self-Consumption Plan under development, the energy refurbishment of 21 primary schools in different districts of the city, the Horizon Seville project with energy monitoring of 150 buildings in the city, and the Cartuja Qanat project as an innovative urban transformation initiative in the Cartuja Science and Technology Park (PCT Cartuja) in Seville; The #eCitySevilla project, a pioneering public-private collaboration initiative led by the Regional Government of Andalusia, the City Council of Seville, the Cartuja Science and Technology Park (PCT Cartuja) and Endesa; the implementation of 350 double charging points as a measure to promote, among other things, private electric mobility; and the Sevilla City One initiative, a public-private collaboration aimed at promoting investment in the sustainable development of the Seville metropolitan area in a highly international context.
1.5 billion investment in Valladolid that will benefit the city
The investment required in Valladolid to implement the Climate Action Plan would be around 1.5 billion euros. About 15% of this investment will have to come from the public sector and 85% from the private sector.
In the future, this would mean savings in operating costs of around 1,600 million euros in direct economic benefits, mainly related to energy savings, and co-benefits of around 590 million euros, with the creation of green jobs, health benefits, revaluation of assets, insurance (risk reduction), improvement of environmental quality, with a return on investment of more than 40%.
Valladolid’s Councillor for the Environment, Alejandro García Pellitero, said: ‘At Valladolid City Council we are committed to sustainable urban regeneration as a key axis in achieving climate neutrality by 2030. The building sector accounts for 22% of CO2 emissions in our city, so we are promoting actions such as energy rehabilitation, the promotion of positive energy districts, the promotion of energy communities or our most important project, the sustainable heat network for the entire city of Valladolid’.
He added: “Projects like URBANEW allow us to lead the transformation towards a more sustainable and efficient city, mobilising all the actors involved, from citizens to companies in the sector. We are working on innovative solutions that will not only improve the quality of life of the people of Valladolid, but also serve as a model for other cities in Europe’.
He concluded: ‘Urban regeneration is not only an environmental issue, but also an opportunity to create jobs, improve public health and enhance our urban environment. We want Valladolid to be an example of how public-private cooperation can make a difference in this global challenge’.
Three thematic roundtables with experts
Three round tables were also held. The first was on ‘Innovation and investment in sustainable urban development’, with the participation of Minerva Salas, Delegate for European Funds, Urban Agenda, Sustainability and Strategic Plans of Seville City Council; Ana Sancho, Head of Strategic Planning of Bilbao Metrópoli 30; and Germán Torrado, Innovation Leader / Founder of VESS Venture Studio.
Rodrigo Rodríguez Hans, Vice President of Prodetur; Pilar Conesa, Founder and President of Anteverti and Commissioner of the Smart City Expo World Congress; Ana Beatriz Jordao, UN-Habitat Representative; and Rafael Merinero, Professor of Political Sociology and Public Policy at the Pablo de Olavide University, participated in the second round table entitled ‘Metropolitan Urban Agenda: A territorial project to attract investment’.
The third round table was dedicated to ‘Successful projects of the metropolis of Southern Europe’. Juana Leal, General Coordinator of European Funds and City Projection of Seville City Council; Germán del Real, General Manager of Ayesa; Carmen Ponce, Director of Corporate Affairs of Heineken and Francisco J. Cuervas, CEO of Ghenova.
A major global showcase
The second Seville City One International Conference has attracted the attention of the international press and will once again be a major focus, given the importance of the city and its metropolitan area as a prime destination for national and international investment. For three days, around 20 top international journalists will get to know the main potential of Seville and its metropolitan area, visiting the towns of La Rinconada, Dos Hermanas and Alcalá de Guadaíra.
The group of journalists works for high-circulation news agencies, newspapers and digital press, television channels and specialised magazines with wide circulation in countries such as Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Spain, Cuba, France, United Kingdom, Turkey, United States and Canada.
