Energy Resilience

What is energy resilience?

Safe and reliable electricity is an essential feature of daily life in cities. From lighting to cooking, the digitalization of work and the electrification of mobility, electricity powers our modern way of life. However, cities face numerous challenges to securing clean and safe energy access for their residents and ensuring stable power for their systems. Extreme weather events threaten cities’ energy infrastructure while rapid digitalization and urbanization put municipal grids under stress.

To achieve energy resilience, cities must assess the many systems in their city that depend on power, looking beyond urban energy distribution to consider mobility, construction and many other systems that contribute greatly to our consumption of energy. Cities must ensure that these are equity-focused, risk-aware, systems-enabled and center a green, low-carbon transition.

Global carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise at unprecedented levels, severely impacting humanity. Accelerating energy transition is a key factor in increasing our ambitions to counteract the crisis. Cities have an important role to play in finding unique energy transition pathways considering socio-economic priorities, existing energy systems, and established organizational systems. A people-centered and just energy transition is critical to addressing current and future challenges of urban energy systems.

Rethinking urban energy also represents an important opportunity to reshape our city economies and modalities to encourage cleaner, greener and more resilient urban living. By transforming our energy systems, we can address key urban priorities, including reducing our carbon emissions and transitioning to net zero, as well as tackling disparities by reducing the high-cost burdens associated with energy access.

Our programs on energy resilience

With support from the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet through the Rockefeller Foundation and the S&P Global Foundation, R-Cities has launched Urban Power, focused on promoting global urban energy resilience and increasing energy access for vulnerable urban populations.

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