Cities in Europe are experimenting new ways to invest in energy transition and finance green measures at local level. Innovative financing models are becoming a priority because of lack of public funding. The pioneering city of Stuttgart, Germany, was one the first to apply an innovative financing scheme back in 1995 and since then it has been bearing its fruit: energy-efficiency funding has reduced the city’s CO2 emissions by tens of thousands of tonnes. The scheme consists of setting up a revolving fund from the city’s budget, using internal contracting to finance energy efficient measures. A unit of the Stuttgart administration takes on the role of an Energy Service Company (ESCO) offering energy services to other departments of the municipality. Full article HERE.
