EUSEW 2023 – Human capacity for the energy and climate transition: what is needed at the local level?

Local authorities play a key role in the European climate transition and are at the forefront of the ongoing energy crisis.

They manage a large share of the building stock (public, commercial and residential), and have competencies in urban planning, built infrastructure, public lighting, and transport. They also accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy projects and reduce energy consumption thanks to their direct link with citizens, especially in the current context of the energy crisis, but are struggling to have the internal staffing capacity to drive their local climate transitions.

To fulfil their role they are in need of a skilled workforce to draft, develop and implement local and regional climate and energy plans, and to implement climate and energy projects that meet the needs of residents. 

The main objective of this session is to address the urgency of labour and skills shortages in the European local public administrations to accelerate climate neutrality at the local level. To do so, the session will bring evidence of what the needs of municipalities are in terms of staff capacity and upskilling, and it will present some local, national and European initiatives that are responding to these needs.