Celsius Summit Online 2021 – Energy Democracy

The energy transition concerns everyone. Its success will highly rely on its democratic and inclusive dimensions, at every level. This is especially true when looking at heating and cooling systems, which must be sustainable, affordable, and accessible for all.

In this context, cities are the direct guarantors of these values. There will be no silver bullet to decarbonise these systems. Considering the different (and sometimes opposed) interacting perspectives, one question arises: how can cities ensure that heating and cooling systems are efficient, sustainable, and democratic? Overcoming these challenges will be key to reaching the European climate targets on time.

Agenda

More speakers will be announced.

Program, 24 November – Different perspectives

Moderator: Annette Gerlach

13:30 – Opening plenary

• Welcome from Strasbourg – Marc Hoffsess, Deputy Mayor of Strasbourg
• Keynotes – Ciarán Cuffe, Member of the European Parliament; Julien Joubert, Energy Cities & Julie Purdue, AMORCE

15:00 – Coffee break

15:15 – Roundtable discussion on Energy Democracy

• End-user engagement and acceptability of DH – Astrid Madsen, City of Rotterdam (NL)
• Cooperatives and heat communities – Bob D’Haeseleer, Eeklo (BE)
• Heat strategies – Benjamin Brullon, MANERGY (FR)

16:00 – Breakout room discussions

Room 1: Policy perspective

Room 2: Customers’ and utilities’ perspective on heating and cooling

Room 3: Stakeholder engagement

16:45 – Conclusions

Program, 25 November – Implementation

9:30 – Roundtable discussion on Collaboration within and between Cities

Moderator: Moa Dahlman-Truesdale

• Collaboration at a national level – Stephen Cull, Dublin City Council (IE)
• Collaboration at an international level – Guillaume Perrin, FNCCR (FR)

11:00 – Coffee break

11:15 – Parallel workshops

Workshop 1: Celsius policy workshop

Workshop 2: Waste Heat

Workshop 3: Geothermal heat

12:15 – Conclusions

12:30 – Networking afternoon