How can a big city reach climate neutrality within a decade? A few weeks ago, the students of the Master in Global Energy Transition and Governance discovered an ambitious project on the shores of the Mediterranean: Marseille, the second most densely populated city in France (877,215 inhabitants in 2022), France’s biggest harbour and one of the 15 biggest ports in Europe has been selected as one of the “100 climate neutral cities by 2030”! To fulfill the requirements of the prestigious European label “Climate-neutral and smart cities”, the city has to provide an ambitious decarbonisation strategy for energy, transport, buildings and industry.
Our students were welcomed by the energy transition team of the city of Marseille. To prepare this exchange, the students worked in groups on a Marseille strategy: Each group assessed the strategy’s strengths and weaknesses for a different sector - air pollution, urban heat islands and green spaces, renewable energy, mobility and transport, building and housing and circular economy.
During the debates, the students understood how complex the political process is to set climate on top of the local agenda. They also gained insights into the entanglement of competences between the different levels of governance in France which makes a cross-sectoral and partner-based approach to solving climate issues very slow and difficult. They were impressed to see how such an EU label can contribute to helping a city get structured and develop tools to boost local action by involving a broad variety of stakeholders in the public and private sectors but also among NGOs and citizens.
The students also learnt that "Just Transition" is an important pillar of the city’s approach to involving citizens: dedicated environment workshops in disadvantaged districts aim at taking into account the population’s needs in terms of housing or food in the process of climate adaptation and mitigation. To illustrate the emphasis that the Mayor sets on the just transition, Marseille was selected as part of a pilot project entitled “territoire zero exclusion énergétique” to fight energy poverty among the most vulnerable populations.
Our special thanks go to Cathy Lauranson and the energy transition team of the city of Marseille for their warm welcome and for the rich and interesting debates and insights.
In Toulon at EDF Solidarité, the students discovered how the energy company surpasses state obligations to propose ambitious projects to support households subject to energy poverty. During this day-long exchange, the students were introduced to the company’s engagement for personalised support for energy-vulnerable customers, the cooperation with social action partners, EDF's financial commitment to public aid schemes and how these compare with policies around the world.
Representatives from FACE VAR introduced the students to actions of energy mediation carried out in the region in partnership with EDF. We thank Sophie Huguet, the FACE VAR team and all the solidarity advisers in Toulon for their interesting presentations and particularly for their warm welcome for our students!