Page 12 - Guidelines for cities to achieve carbon Net Zero through digital transformation

2 Digital transformation for reaching carbon Net Zero in cities

As city populations grow, so the demand for services and the pressure on resources increase. This
demand puts a strain on energy, water, and mobility services, all of which are fundamental to a
city’s prosperity and sustainability. Simultaneously, cities are incurring a digital transition process
that needs to be implemented appropriately. As a result, it is evident that making our cities climate
neutral and smart is an absolute necessity for achieving a twin green and digital transformation.

In today’s ever-evolving digital technology landscape, a wealth of data on energy consumption,
water consumption, geospatial information, and traffic patterns is constantly being generated.
These data sources can offer cities the potential to make smarter, more sustainable and better-
informed decision making. Cities can build robust data ecosystems that enable the collection,
analysis and utilization of data for carbon-neutral and smart communities. By leveraging data
from various sources, including climate sensors, weather forecasts and citizen feedback, cities can
develop climate impact models to better understand and mitigate the effects of disruptive weather
patterns and phenomena. These models can inform decision-making processes, enabling optimal
mitigation and adaptation strategies to combat climate change and emergency management. By
integrating digital technologies, cities can be optimized for greater efficiency and support the
transition to carbon Net Zero.

The digital solutions available today can wield considerable advantages in urban areas. In the context
of achieving carbon Net Zero and creating people-centred cities, city digital transformation plays
a vital role. It enables cities to leverage technology to address pressing environmental challenges
and optimize resource management. By embracing digital transformation, cities can unlock new
opportunities for sustainability, innovation, and citizen engagement. ICT-based solutions could
reduce commuting by 15–20 per cent and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 10–15 per cent, while
urban digital twins could significantly improve a city’s ability to simulate or model policy outcomes.
An increasing amount of data is also being collected by various ICT and social media technologies
that could support the cities and communities’ transformation.

To accelerate the move towards carbon Net Zero cities, the following opportunities have been
identified:

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