At the turn of November and December, a meeting inaugurating strategic consulting under the City with Climate initiative was held. Cities distinguished in the project start cooperation with renowned institutions. One of the advisory institutions invited to this cooperation is the National Centre for Nuclear Research.

The „City with Climate” project was announced by the Ministry of Climate and Environment; in April this year, its second edition was inaugurated. The aim of the project is to popularize modern, effective solutions to improve the quality of life of residents and increase the resilience of cities to the effects of climate change. As part of the project, an analysis of the activities undertaken by the cities participating in the initiative was carried out in order to measure the effects of implementing the climate and environmental policy.

The analyzes were carried out in five categories: air quality, urban greenery, zero-emission transport, energy transformation and urban retention. In each of the categories, one city was selected, which received the title of „City with Climate”, as well as 3 distinguished cities.

To support the process of planning and implementing climate and environmental policy at the local level, the Ministry of Climate and Environment invited all cities selected in the project to cooperate with scientists as part of specialist strategic consulting. Cities with Climate will cooperate with institutions such as the Institute of Environmental Protection (consortium leader), the Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas, the Forest Research Institute, and finally the National Centre for Nuclear Research.

The National Centre for Nuclear Research was invited to the consortium as an institution with extensive experience in the implementation of projects meeting European standards, as well as a reliable partner for the economic environment. The dedicated NCBJ Unit that participates in the project is IDEA – the Interdisciplinary Department of Energy Analysis. Our goal as a consortium member is strategic consulting in the field of energy transformation and zero-emission transport. In addition, the IDEA Department has prepared a whole range of IT services and products at the disposal of cities to help in the implementation of the project assumptions, including our flagship solutions: Zefir https://zefir.app/ (system for planning and monitoring energy transformation at city level) and Chronos (system for monitoring and managing energy in buildings, local government units or energy communities). Both of these systems were developed as a result of research and development works under the Gospostrateg project.

„The city of Żywiec chose „zero smog” as the basic scenario in the pilot implementation of Zefir” – says Katarzyna Białkowska, Project Manager of the City with Climate at NCBJ. „The prepared transformation plan indicated the target energy sources, the amount of total transformation expenditure and the implementation schedule. This information gave the city authorities a solid justification in applying for support from EU or national funds. We believe that by giving specific tools, such as Zefir, we help cities plan and implement transformation within the optimal budget”

„For the needs of the smog reduction strategy for the entire country, we have prepared a calculation of the required expenditure with the help of Zefir” – adds D. Eng. Karol Wawrzyniak, Head of the IDEA Department at NCBJ. „It turned out that the „zero smog” scenario is only slightly more expensive than the total expenditure on the current electricity and heat system in residential buildings. Such information allows us to be optimistic about the future and strengthens us in our pursuit of our mission: sustainable energy development for the benefit of humanity and the planet Earth. "

The cooperation of cities with advisory institutions will consist in the review of strategic and planning documents and the development of recommendations for modification or introduction of new goals of the climate and environmental transformation. An additional task is to build the administrative capacity of cities and prepare them to finance key investments. The result of the cooperation will be the so-called Climate Transition Roadmaps for individual cities, part of which are to be lists of recommended projects for implementation, including indicative projects, financed under the new EU perspective 2021-2027.

In addition to researching the progress of cities in their environmental policy, as part of the City with Climate program, city workshops, a competition for the best completed project, a competition for young people „School with Climate”, and a competition for the best urban solutions in the field of green and blue infrastructure were also conducted. The program is also to be continued in the coming years.

The strategic advisory project is financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management and will run for 12 months until the end of 2022.

Cities selected in each project category:

Air quality:

A city with a climate: Ustka

Standout cities: Jasień, Mrocza, Sztum

Urban greenery:

A city with a climate: Krynica-Zdrój

Standout cities: Rzeszów, Suwałki, Świdnik

Zero-emission transport:

A city with a climate: Wyszków

Standout cities: Olsztyn, Złotów, Czempiń

Energy transformation:

A city with a climate: Knurów

Standout cities: Rzeszów, Hrubieszów, Tarnobrzeg

Urban retention:

A city with a climate: Siechnice

Standout cities: Bielsko-Biała, Chorzele, Busko-Zdrój