The PED Session at the DUT Launch event in Brussels focused on “PEDs for energy security: locality and resilience” and included the following speakers for an exciting discussion: Helmut Bruckner (Sonnenplatz Großschönau GmbH/INTERACT project), Dieter Bruggeman (VUB/TRANS-PED project), Alice Detollenaere (City of Brussels), Jo Huygh, (DUSS/Abbatoir project), Hanne Mangelshots (ArchitectureWorkroom Brussels/Cities4PEDs project), Hans-Günther Schwarz (BMK/DUT Partnership), Elina Sergejeva (Energy Cities).
Outcome from the discussion includes the following messages:
- Future projects should be linked to a local mandate and political decision, e.g. in form of Climate City Contracts.
- Awareness of urgency is still an issue and the lecel of awarness maybe overestimated in our bubble – strategies for awareness-raising needed from political level to individual level.
- PED could be the cities doing their fair share in driving the energy transition – communication towards cities: how to give guidance without being too project-specific?
- People-centric approach: focus on the district. Empower people to take ownership of the system, not only consuming but also producing energy. For that to happen cities needs to lay the floor to facilitate and give strategic vision/plans to citizens.
- More focus on market mechanisms of/for PEDs (energy prices, etc.) as incentive for mainstreaming
Input from the session will be included in the development of PED priorities for future strategic development of the PED Transition Pathway and the upcoming DUT Calls.
