As the climate and environmental crisis intensifies, urban areas are experiencing an increasing frequency of environmental challenges. Rising sea levels, heatwaves, pollution episodes and extreme weather events threaten the livelihoods of millions. To meet these challenges head-on, cities worldwide are turning to advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), data-driven predictions, and green tech. These tools are key in developing climate-resilient cities capable of adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change. A recent study by the Boston Consulting Group, stated that AI has the potential to help mitigate 5-10% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 — the equivalent of the total annual emissions of the European Union. The question is, how do cities realise this potential?
Challenges of Digital Transformation in Cities
While digital transformation holds great promise for sustainability, it is not without challenges. Regulatory hurdles, data security concerns, and limited access to relevant data often stand in the way of rapid progress. To overcome these obstacles, cities must foster collaboration across various sectors, ensuring solutions are developed that not only address climate neutrality or environmental quality improvement, but also respect privacy and regulatory frameworks.
Collaboration is essential for the successful adoption of digital technologies. By fostering partnerships among stakeholders—including governments, tech companies, and community organisations—cities can create open platforms and solutions that encourage innovation while addressing key challenges. Data spaces, where stakeholders share information and collaborate on solutions, are crucial for the development of low carbon and climate-resilient solutions and infrastructure.
In addition, we need to be aware that digital transformation processes and the development of smart solutions, demand the consumption of scarce resources like water or energy, and generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions too. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), electricity consumption from data centres, artificial intelligence (AI) and the cryptocurrency sector could double by 2026.
Innovative tools for smart cities
Additionally, to cope with these challenges, cities striving for sustainability can benefit from several advanced tools. The CDP ICLEI Track, for example, provides cities with a platform to track environmental data and progress toward their climate goals. Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE) is another critical tool that helps cities map out emissions sources, offering actionable insights for reducing carbon footprints. Guidelines prepared by ICLEI Europe under the scope of the BuiltHub project further stress the importance of multi-level governance, emphasising that to fully realise the impact of frameworks like the EU Green Deal, cities must foster collaboration among stakeholders and ensure that climate and digitalisation policies are co-created.
These tools enable cities to make informed decisions, track progress in real-time, and implement solutions that align with global climate goals. Additionally, they provide the transparency needed for long-term accountability and collaboration between governments, businesses, and communities.
“In order to achieve ambitious climate neutrality goals by 2030 or 2040, cities need to explore new types of solutions beyond the hard-infrastructure options, and here is where digital solutions, such as smart buildings, smart energy or smart transport technologies play an important role in helping cities to advance faster. In addition, considering the existence of new data-ecosystems and the recent AI developments, cities have to be prepared to capture the benefits of these technologies but also be aware of the challenges it brings,” notes Alis-Daniela Torres, Head of Green Digital Transformation at ICLEI Europe.
ICLEI Members as models of digital innovation
So what does this look like in action? ICLEI Member Freiburg (Germany) has become a global leader in the smart city movement, blending green technologies and digital solutions to achieve measurable and sustainable progress. In a recent publication with Open Access Government, Martin Horn, the Lord Mayor of Freiburg and President of ICLEI Europe, emphasises the importance of leveraging both digitalisation and sustainability, stating, “Freiburg adopts green technologies to support the transformative processes in cities and communities if they take place under sustainable, measurable, standardised, open and inclusive frameworks.” The city’s strategy is rooted in expanding photovoltaic energy, promoting wind energy projects, and developing a comprehensive district heating plan.
Freiburg’s energy transition plans focus on the dual benefit of meeting citizens' needs while reducing environmental impact. By integrating renewable energy projects with smart city initiatives, the city ensures that energy solutions are sustainable, scalable, and adaptable. This approach serves as a beacon for other cities seeking to align climate neutrality goals with urban planning and digitalisation policies.
In the UK, ICLEI Member Glasgow is combining air quality sensor analysis with meteorological and other data to assess interventions through the GEMINOA project, funded by the ICLEI Action Fund, with the support of google.org. In this project, indoor sensors will supplement data, exploring the link between indoor/outdoor air quality and building heating efficiency improvements.
Join the Conversation
The journey toward building smart and sustainable cities requires collaboration, innovation, and the fast adoption of smart technologies. Join us at the Smart City Expo World Congress from 5-7 November in ICLEI Member Barcelona (Spain), where experts will discuss how AI, data, and green tech can be leveraged to build sustainable urban environments. As part of the EU Smart Cities Marketplace, ICLEI will host sessions exploring how cities can take advantage of advanced tools and frameworks to meet their climate neutrality goals.