Padova is among the most ancient cities in the northern Italy. It counts 209.420 inhabitants on an area of 92,85 kmq. Its strategic location, alongside river Brenta, has always been a melting pot of people and cultures, enriching and placing the city as one of the most active economic and cultural exchange centres in the North-Eastern area of Italy and Veneto Region. The inclusion of Padova Giotto’s frescos in the UNESCO World Heritage, together with Padova election as European Volunteering Capital, but also Capital of Green Innovation, is placing the city under constant international visibility.
Padova is already set to become a metropolitan hub by 2030, where the crucial assets to prioritize are innovation, interconnection, sustainability and social inclusion. Padova Municipality is currently operating in several macro sectors for a more sustainable growth of the city that pays attention to resources, social well-being and economy, namely i) mobility and micro mobility, ii) healthcare, iii) well-being, iv) urban culture and renovation, v) parks and recreation, vi) security and cybersecurity. The reported pillars are interconnected and each of them takes advantage of a particular sector of the Padova’s community and its innovation network, in a concerted effort of local stakeholders from private and public sector and the associations. These macro areas are all in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 Agenda, where every action proposed by the Municipality combines local needs and global sustainable requirements.
Padova is one of 100 European pilot cities selected by the European Commission in the NetZeroCities project, with the ambitious mission of achieving climate neutrality by 2030.
Therefore, the Municipality's primary goal is to drastically reduce its CO2 emissions by implementing and enhancing the actions included in its SECAP.
In particular, the Municipality intends to profoundly renew the public and private building real estate property, enhance the use of energy from renewable sources, strengthen electric public transport service and soft mobility, reduce waste production also through circular economy strategies, implement a food policy and implement climate change adaptation policies, especially related to urban green.
All the above-mentioned actions are designed in view of a climate neutrality, and also to build an increasingly inclusive and open community, highlighting the fact that the events of the last few years worsened economic hardship and inequalities in the society and that acting to protect the vulnerable and ensuring a good quality of life for all is the primary task of a municipality.
In the field of buildings and energy, the Municipality of Padova intends to:
- enhance the activities of the One-Stop-Shop implemented within the H2020 European projects PadovaFIT and PadovaFIT Expanded for the energy enhancement of the private building real estate property. The Padova OSS provided free consulting to almost 550 families in the period February 2021 - November 2022, providing both technical and legal-administrative support in the area of energy enhancement. Besides continuing offering the current service, the Municipality intends to strengthen it. In fact, this service is of crucial importance to reduce emissions related to household consumption and to give concrete and lasting support to households, especially those at risk or already in energy poverty.
- activate energy communities and promote the use of energy production facilities from renewable sources, particularly by experimenting new solutions for the historic centre and providing incentives for photovoltaic system in civil and industrial buildings. The activation of energy communities has several positive resolutions, first and foremost in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and also in terms of understanding technologies and financial systems, which lead to awareness raising and increased sense of participation in the community life. Finally, the most obvious social result is the fight against energy poverty. - valorize thermal waste from the waste-to-energy plant, - increasing biogas/bio-methane production and utilization and enhancing agro-energy under the Green Plan.
Therefore, the Municipality of Padova is interested in joining any consortium that can help develop the project described above.
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For further info, please refer to:
Giulia Canilli
Giovanni Vicentini