In the morning, chairman Jan Verheeke launched the central question: how do we accelerate neighbourhood by neighbourhood towards a fossil-free living environment? For that acceleration, the 100 Neighbourhoods Platform wants to create a learning and development environment, for and by local pioneers. Joachim Declerck guided us through the breakthroughs already achieved by the pioneers. How can we now connect that passion with the ambitions of policymakers and (impact) investors to continue building a critical mass of projects and partnerships in the coming years?  

We learned from inspiring examples from abroad. Petra Schöfmann took us to the city-wide “Phasing Out Gas” programme in Vienna where different transition paths are becoming clear for different neighbourhoods in the city: from small-scale collective projects in lower-density zones to extending the central heat grid in the city centre. Eline van den Ende explained how the Dutch Collective Heat Act appoints municipalities as directors of the energy transition. Public participation in the heat company should simultaneously protect consumers and speed up the transition.  

In no fewer than eight different sessions, we then delved into concrete projects to unravel ingredients of a coherent framework: social housing projects and residents' initiatives as locomotives, bundling investments per neighbourhood, local heat plans as a strategic framework for local policy, ... 

We concluded the day with an animated panel discussion moderated by chairman of the day Jan Verheeke and Hanne Mangelschots. Ruben Baetens (KU Leuven), Britt Berghs (City of Antwerp), Dirk De Meyer (ECoOB), Joris Soens (Fluvius) and Eline van den Ende (Ministry of Climate and Green Growth, NL) said it straightforward: the energy transition requires a collective approach and this should take different forms depending on the context. Local actors such as municipalities, cooperatives and developers need a framework to shape their project and partnership. It requires a director to grasp challenges across policy domains and link different goals. And shaping overarching policies from the ground up then leads to significant efficiency gains in the process. We look forward to taking up this joint challenge with shared energy!