UK and Scottish low-carbon energy policies and climate change legislation presage one of the most far-reaching societal transformations since the industrial revolution. They also set extremely ambitious targets for sustainable heat development over the next decade. The "Heat and the City" project addresses the challenges to be overcome in order to realise the substantial, but largely unexploited, potential for sustainable heat, and energy demand reduction, in city communities. Over four years, we will compare the trajectories of work in Glasgow and Edinburgh, where the Councils are collaborating with each other, and with social movement, community and social enterprise organisations, to maximise joint progress on sustainable heat. Through multidisciplinary academic and community collaboration, we aim to develop an action-learning blueprint for catalysing transitions to sustainable heat in "cold climate" cities. We will capture, analyse and give feedback on new projects as they develop over four years, enabling shared learning in relation to community leadership, and management and financial expertise. We aim to work closely with a broad range of groups including Sustainable Glasgow, Edinburgh Council Sustainable Development Unit, and various interested social enterprises and community groups in and around Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Public debate about energy demand and carbon emissions has been dominated by two perspectives. One puts the onus on 'government' to pass legislation. The other focuses on individuals and households to change their attitudes, and ultimately their behaviour. Our argument is that solutions are most likely at the community level, and that city communities are the key to mobilising actors to achieve major change. Cities are the predominant contemporary expression of communities: over half the world's population lives in them; they consume 75% of the world's energy and produce 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. Glasgow and Edinburgh are positioned to make a leading contribution to sustainable heat.
Given the distinctive network qualities of district heating systems, which create long-term interdependencies between suppliers, users and investors, we focus on questions about community engagement, interaction between local and cosmopolitan communities, local authority leadership in the context of devolved governance, and viable business and financial management models
This page was published on 24 October 2011