In the context of risk of gas outages and the EU’s will to end its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, the European Commission has published the factsheet “Saving energy for a safe winter” that provides examples of cities that are already working on reducing energy consumption through energy saving and energy efficiency measures. The list of cities provided are either part of the EU Mission for 100 Climate-neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 (Cities Mission) or the Cities Energy Savings Sprint and they are working on initiatives in different fields, such as lighting mobility, and construction, among others. Some examples include optimising energy use in public institutions, using artificial intelligence to reduce energy use, using lake water to cool buildings, switching to public electric mobility, campaigning for more bikes, etc.

The factsheet also outlines a selection of Horizon 2020 projects contributing to energy saving and energy efficiency in cities.