Systemic Approach for the Integration of Energy and Climate Planning in Urban Management

The voluntary-based initiative Covenant of Mayors (CoM) by 2016, through the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) has focused on the active role of local authorities and increased its targets in terms of GHG reduction from 20% to 40% by 2030. Considering SECAP as an urban planning tool, it can improve the resilience of the EU Municipalities to climate-change, developing adaptation/mitigation actions and increasing the “environmental awareness” of the involved actors. From a planning perspective, the CoM started a new season of urban planning in Europe covering the planning demand in the domain of implementing sustainable territorial development objectives. However, we may affirm that the SECAP is based on a sectorial approach, and it misses an integrated urban vision that represents a pre-requisite for an effective urban planning practice. Thus, in this research we suggest a methodological proposal to exploit this widespread of SECAPs among EU, including the systemic strategic planning approach in the process of SECAP design and ensuring an integrated vision of city development over the list of actions per sectors required by Global CoM procedures.