New research from the University of the Basque Country shines a light on how cities are crucial in the fight against climate change. They’re aligning their local energy plans with the big strategies that entire countries are using to tackle the problem.

Countries around the world are making promises and plans to fight climate change. But now, cities are stepping up to make a big difference too. They’re figuring out ways to use energy more wisely and help cut down on the pollution that causes climate change.

Leading the fight

The researchers propose a new approach to make this happen. The proposal aims to enable cities to take the big energy plans that countries have and make them work on a smaller scale for cities. They’re figuring out exactly how much these plans can help each city, so that they can set achievable goals that match what the country wants to do.

The study focused on Valencia in Spain, and compared its energy plans to what the whole country is planning. They found some things that Valencia can do even better than the whole country, but they also found some things that they can’t. This shows how important it is to look at what each city can actually do when they’re making energy plans that match the country’s goals.

As cities become more and more important in the fight against climate change, it’s really crucial to figure out the best ways for them to use energy. The research points out that cities and the national government need to work together to make sure that cities can do their part in reaching big climate goals.

The study gives a lot of useful ideas to people who plan energy in cities, to government officials, and to everyone who cares about this. As the whole world joins hands to tackle climate change, this research is like a map that shows cities and countries how they can reach their shared climate goals together.