In 2010 the worldwide building sector was responsible for 24% of the total GHG emissions deriving from fossil fuel combustion, second only to the industrial sector; but, if the embodied energy of construction materials is included, the share is far higher and the building sector becomes the prime CHG emitter. Thus,building design and construction have a significant effect on the chances of meeting the 2 °C target (keeping global temperature increase to 2 °C ). 

Developing countries are going to play a decisive role in the future world energy scenario, as a consequence of their economic development. Industrial energy consumption will grow, and a dramatic increase in energy consumption for transport can be expected, with the growth in the number of vehicles on the roads - if the currently accepted worldwide approach to mobility does not change. The increase in energy consumption in the building sector can be expected to be even more dramatic, not only because air conditioning will spread and the number of domestic electric and electronic appliances will grow, but also because of the increase in the number of buildings.

The main purpose of this handbook is to assist people who are working in or with local government to develop sustainable energy and climate action plans and implementation programmes. There can be no single recipe for all cities so it is up to each local government to develop its own innovative and appropriate plans based on local resources and needs.

We, at ICLEI and UN-Habitat, hope this handbook will go a long way to helping you to do this and allow you to take full advantage of the opportunities inherent in such planning.

For cities to confront the challenges of fossil fuel depletion, increasing energy costs and rapid climate change, it is inevitable to develop and implement urban energy management solutions for their sustainable future. This publication is a training companion developed originally for training courses at the International Urban Training Centre in the Republic of Korea.

This Source-book addresses sustainable urban energy solutions from a system’s perspective, as a three-step process - energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Energy conservation asks the question, “do we need to consume a given good/service?” Energy efficiency asks, “what would be the best possible way to consume the same good/service”, while renewable energy asks, “could there be sustainable renewable energy alternatives for fossil fuels”.