Cities across the globe have embraced their instrumental role in tackling climate change. For example, in the lead-up to last November's COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, leaders from many of the 1,000-plus cities that have joined the United Nations' Race to Zero initiative announced pledges to slash carbon emissions drastically.

These public commitments are critical for establishing a city's aspirations and, importantly, setting the tangible benchmarks necessary for accountability.

The truth is that establishing aggressive decarbonization targets is the easy part for city leaders. Far more challenging is setting the policies, strategies, budgets and responsibilities needed to make steady progress toward deep decarbonization. Even more daunting for city leaders is creating a cost-efficient decarbonization pathway, promoting resilience and maximizing the wide range of achievable benefits as communities navigate the transition away from fossil fuels.

An integrated approach is best because there is no single solution for any city to decarbonize. "An integrated approach is when we think of the whole system, from the load to the site to the distribution grid to the markets," Yu said. "The underlying technology architecture is thought through in an integrated and inclusive way so that cities can leverage different technologies and integrate new ones as they become available."

The integrated approach requires collaboration across city departments and leaders. It's also helped by having an adviser with deep knowledge and experience in markets, finance and new technologies to help formulate, implement and evolve decarbonization strategies. For example, Shell Energy has a team dedicated to working with cities worldwide to develop decarbonization road maps composed by clearly understanding a city's priorities and current operations and then creating a menu of options for advancing their goals.

Read the full article about decarbonization goals for cities at Smart Cities Dive.