Keynote 2: Regulatory & Policies Impacting Smart Cities and Clean Energy

The energy industry in undergoing major transformations due to a number of drivers, including the push for decarbonization and the effects climate change are having on communities around the world. Electric utilities like Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), are developing significant innovations and making groundbreaking discoveries when it comes to energy technology and the smart city. These new and emerging technologies are being designed to address the realities of climate change, the increased frequency of cyber-security threats, and public health concerns regarding COVID-19.

GHG emissions have been historically peaking year on year despite the massive availability of highly competitive low carbon energy technologies. Beyond clean technologies, achieving climate neutrality requires a profound policy driven societal transformation that can only achieved by a holistic and multidisciplinary redefinition of our governance systems, social organization, lifestyles, values and behaviors. Cities have been at the forefront of the Clean Energy Transition and constitute a privileged living laboratory to experiment optimal transformational pathways to climate neutrality. The session will put in perspective the state of play and highlight the need for a systemic transformational approach to address the climate challenge ahead of us.