Smart Cities as centers of innovation
Maroš Šefčovič is a Slovak diplomat who was European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture & Youth from 2009 to 2010. In 2010, he was promoted to Vice President of the European Commission, in charge of Energy Union.
It’s the cities that prove to be the real centers of innovation and growth.
Maroš is working on a project of creating smarter EU cities and regions. He recognizes that cities & regions face enormous challenges, from air pollution to traffic congestion. But, every time, it’s also the cities that prove to be the real centers of innovation & growth.
He believes that, at the global level, cities can inspire each other & learn from each other’s best practices to deliver a more sustainable future. The progress in energy efficiency, cutting CO2 emissions & using renewables is encouraging, but Maroš believes far more needs to be done. He stresses that regions & cities — the real engines of economic development — are increasingly part of the solution.
Maroš Šefčovič believes cities must become smarter by strengthening cooperation & better exploit new technologies if the EU is to meet its climate change commitments, end energy poverty & drive sustainable growth. He highlights the belief in the ability of local action to transform our economies & bring about the change across Europe & across the world.
Before the next European elections in 2019, Maroš Šefčovič , the European Commission’s Vice-President for the Energy Union, wants to have a new legal framework in place which will “bring in the most comprehensive and deepest transformation of energy systems in Europe, since the [industrial revolution] one hundred and fifty years ago.” In an exclusive interview with Energy Post, he says that the success of the Energy Union project “will decide the place of Europe on the geopolitical and economic map of the 21st Century”. Renewables, decentralized energy, digitalization and smart grids will be the “backbone of the new modern economy in Europe.” On the controversy over Nord Stream 2, Gazprom’s pipeline project, Šefčovič says he wants to resolve the issue through “negotiations”.
Read the full article on The Energy Collective here
