Track: Energy & Environment

Welcome to the 2025 edition of our events – the global stage where urban innovation comes to life.

This opening session sets the tone for an exciting journey ahead, with a warm welcome from Smart City Expo director Ugo Valenti and Tomorrow.Mobility president Marc Rozendal. Joining them are high-level representatives who will share how territories around the world are transforming the way we live, move, and build. Get ready to explore bold ideas and groundbreaking strategies.

As urban systems face growing pressures, shocks, and stresses, urban resilience must evolve into an integrated cycle of action. This session showcases cities' experiences and concepts of the resilience cycle and the pillars of UN-Habitat resolution 9/2: early warning, foresight, risk reduction, crisis response, and post-crisis recovery and reconstruction. Organized by the UN-Habitat City Resilience Global Program and Barcelona City Council.

Cities face unprecedented challenges: environmental degradation, climate change, and chronic health issues. Urban nature improves health and wellbeing. This presentation highlights global evidence, pathways, and synergies between environmental and human health goals, showing how nature can support healthier, more resilient urban communities.

How do green spaces in cities contribute to improving the quality of life, enhance biodiversity, and fostering community engagement and physical well-being?

As climate risk grows, housing investors are backing retrofits, renewables, and net-zero solutions. This session dives into how blended finance and policy tools are turning climate resilience in housing into investable opportunities for cities and private capital.

How can green spaces transform cities into healthier, more inclusive, and biodiverse environments? As urban areas expand, integrating smart lighting, environmental monitoring, and sustainable design becomes key to enhancing quality of life. This roundtable will delve into how green infrastructure can foster urban ecosystem balance, boost physical well-being, and strengthen community connections in the pursuit of greener cities.

Showcasing how European cities can align sustainability efforts for cohesive, transformative change. This session explores how integrated planning and smart urban technologies drive systemic shifts — linking energy, water, mobility, housing, and public space. With Benidorm as a case study and insights from EU initiatives, we highlight scalable, cross-sector strategies for greener, more liveable cities.

As the climate crisis intensifies, urban leaders are under increasing pressure to play a pivotal role in mitigating the repercussions of climate change by implementing innovative practices, advancing sustainable energy strategies, and adopting climate-smart practices. How are cities leading solutions that confront the escalating consequences of the climate emergency, balancing environmental responsibility, city living, and economic vitality?

GCoM, the largest global alliance of cities fighting climate change, will showcase success stories of climate action worldwide, including smart mobility in Shimla (India), floating infrastructure for sea-level rise in Belize City, and waste-to-biogas projects in Basse and Sekondi-Takoradi (Ghana). It will also launch its 2025 Impact Report highlighting implementation progress.

The Smart Monitoring System by the Eastern Province Municipality supports Vision 2030 through an integrated digital infrastructure with IoT, drones, GIS, and AI. It enables proactive monitoring of traffic, crowd safety, environment, and tourism, integrating population and vehicle data to improve city management, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making.

What innovative strategies and technologies are being implemented to reduce waste and promote circularity in urban resource management?

Achieving EU landfill reduction goals requires boosting material and energy recovery, modernizing treatment plants, and strong public-private collaboration. The CIRCULAR BIOCARBON project, led by Urbaser, transforms urban waste into biopolymers, biofertilizers, and green graphene, showcasing a scalable circular economy, sustainability, and innovation, making circularity a real solution for our production and consumption.

As environmental pressures grow, access to natural resources is becoming increasingly threatened. Circular practices offer a sustainable and effective way to significantly reduce resource consumption. Integrated approaches can transform how urban services operate, such as water and waste management, electricity and urban food systems. This session will explore innovative approaches and technologies that help minimize waste and promote circularity in urban environments.

Cities are facing the realities of climate change, and the 2030 Agenda offers a shared framework for action and accountability. This session explores how urban leaders translate global goals into local strategies, integrating climate resilience, innovation, and inclusive planning. It will highlight how governance, collaboration, and long-term vision turn sustainability commitments into measurable urban transformation.

Five years remain to achieve the Paris Agreement goals—what progress has been made, and what still needs to be done? Following the global stocktake at COP29, how are cities planning mid- and long-term strategies to advance climate action?

AI's rapid growth creates unprecedented challenges: data centers face significant challenges related to water and energy resources, creating opportunities for infrastructure innovation. Veolia addresses this through strategic collaborations—providing sustainable solutions to tech leaders while leveraging their AI capabilities to optimize Veolia’s environmental services. This drives regional resilience and sustainable digital transformation.

How is the convergence of enabling technologies with sustainability bringing new depth to the green transformation of our cities? This session will explore how smart solutions, such as IoT, AI, renewable energy systems, and cleantech, are redefining what the future of resilient urban living can look like. As cities strive to become more sustainable, tech innovators are stepping up to accelerate the transition toward a more resilient and environmentally responsible future.

With just five years left to meet the Paris Agreement goals, the climate crisis continues to intensify. TheCOP29’s global stocktake reveals uneven progress. Cities play a pivotal role in advancing climate action by bridging global governance, climate finance and mitigation priorities. This session will discuss the progress made thus far and explore the remaining steps needed for urban strategies to transform climate commitments into concrete results.

This session explores how pioneering cities are turning ambition into action anchored by the Climate City Contract (CCC), the Mission’s flagship instrument for aligning governance, finance, delivery, and public legitimacy.

Stockholm has set very ambitious goals - to become climate positive by 2030 and fossil-free by 2040. The city’s energy transition has been steadily advancing since 1990. Achieving these targets requires phasing out all fossil fuels and developing innovative ways to capture carbon from the atmosphere. One major initiative is the development of a full-scale Bio-Carbon Capture and Storage system. In parallel, Stockholm is contributing to the ASCEND project, creating Positive Clean Energy Districts that combine energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage, decarbonized mobility, and active citizen engagement.

What role do new energy models play in shaping the urban fabric and dynamics of cities as they strive toward decarbonization? What alternative energy sources are real clean solutions for the increasing power demand?

As cities strive toward decarbonization, the energy revolution use is reshaping urban life. What role do decentralized energy models, smart grids and renewables play in meeting rising power demands while enhancing energy efficiency? From energy sources to storage, this session will introduce what innovative energy systems cities are adopting to meet cities’ needs and power a more sustainable urban future.

Discover a smart buildings platform that utilizes integrated AI solutions and advanced analytics to drive real decarbonization. We will explore the innovation behind smart asset management, how it improves interoperability between modules, and maximizes energy efficiency. Ultimately, this framework provides a clear path to zero-emission building operation and measurable climate impact.

How is the building sector aligning its practices with the sustainability initiatives of cities? In what ways can the built environment play a role in mitigating climate change?

How can the building sector drive climate action and align with city sustainability goals? By embracing energy efficiency and zero-emission designs, the built environment becomes a powerful tool for mitigating climate change. This session explores how green buildings are not just structures but vital contributors to healthier, more sustainable urban futures.

Join us in celebrating the most innovative and impactful initiatives shaping the future of urban living. The World Smart City Awards recognize pioneering projects, visionary leaders, and transformative strategies that are driving progress in cities around the globe. This ceremony is a tribute to excellence, creativity, and collaboration in building smarter, more sustainable urban environments.

A relaxed moment to have a drink and mingle with other attendees at the venue’s main entrance after the World Smart City Awards gala.

From wildfires to heatwaves, cities are on the frontline of climate change. This session showcases how space data supports SDG implementation through tracking emissions, mapping wildfire risks, and monitor heat-health impacts. Explore solutions from the SDGsEYES project that by bringing together users, policymakers and data providers, it shares best practices and defines actionable steps for cities to move from mitigation to proactive resilience.

ACM will explain how public procurement can be a key tool to drive the local energy transition. Through its Central Purchasing Body, it enables local governments to access sustainable services such as 100% renewable electricity, solar panels, LED street lighting, and clean mobility. ACM acts as a facilitator to help municipalities move towards a greener, more efficient, and fairer energy model.

In the context of "Adaptation and Resilence," this talk will share findings from a recent Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) survey assessing the current state of lighting infrastructure in cities worldwide. We will explore how cities can leverage their lighting systems as a critical component to adapt to climate change and building urban resilient communities.

What strategies are cities implementing to adapt to climate change? Are cities prioritizing green solutions when mitigating climate change effects or restoring urban environments after a natural catastrophe?

With urbanization accelerating worldwide, cities’ resilience is no longer optional. Esteban León explores how urban areas can anticipate, adapt, and thrive amid social, economic, and environmental challenges, embedding flexibility, inclusiveness, and sustainability at the core of urban development.

As climate impacts intensify, cities are on the frontline of adaptation and resilience. How are urban areas leveraging climate finance and nature-based solutions to strengthen disaster risk management and emergency response? This session will examine the measures cities are adopting to cope with the effects of a changing climate, along with recovery measures aimed at strengthening resilience to climate-related shocks.

How are green entrepreneurship and environmental design shaping transformative change in urban areas? Cities are increasingly turning to climate tech, cleantech and sustainable business models to drive climate solutions. This session will explore how cities foster innovation ecosystems that support a low-carbon future through bold, sustainable and forward-thinking practices.

How are cities leveraging green entrepreneurship and sustainable business practices to drive technological innovation in the fight against the climate crisis?

As climate goals tighten, the mobility sector faces pressure to rapidly decarbonise while remaining economically viable. This session explores how the sustainable, connected, and shared mobility transition — from passenger mobility, logistics, and infrastructure—can support both competitiveness and climate action. Panellists will share insights on emerging trends, regulatory shifts, and how public and private actors can align innovation with competitiveness and sustainability objectives.

As climate challenges intensify, cities are rethinking how to remain resilient, sustainable and adaptive. Urban leaders are driving bold strategies that prioritize both people and the planet. This session will highlight transformative approaches to climate action and resilience, showcasing how cities can lead the green transition while securing a more sustainable urban environment.

As rising temperatures driven by the climate emergency threaten urban life, this session reveals how cities are turning down the heat. From Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, London, to Singapore, and drawing lessons from the EU’s 100 NetZeroCities initiative, it showcases bold nature-based solutions, green infrastructure, and smart design that cool streets, parks, and plazas while boosting well-being and resilience.

This session gathers five EU projects showcasing how cities across Europe use digitalization to create Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). Through digital twins, AI simulations, and interoperable platforms, our projects’ Lighthouse Cities optimize energy efficiency, smart buildings, and sustainable mobility to meet climate goals. Experts share tools, strategies, and lessons to inspire replication for climate-neutral urban futures.