Torino Energy Action Plan- Monitoring Phase

TAPE (Turin Energy Action Plan 2012) Since the '90, the city of Torino has implemented targeted environmental policies reaching important results in terms of total emission reduction. Several public and private stakeholders, who already brought the CO2 balance of Torino to the 18% reduction from 1991 to 2005, have been involved in 2009 in the elaboration of a new Strategic Plan for Sustainable Energy. The goal of Torino, joining the Covenant of Mayors, was to strengthen the on-going actions, coordinated by the City Administration. This brought in October 2010 to the approval of the Torino Energy Action Plan (TAPE) by the City Council. The Action Plan aims at reaching a CO2 emission reduction of over 40% by 2020 compared to the 1991 data of the first Energy Action Plan developed by Torino. The topic of the CO2 emission reduction has become a central goal, which the Administration wants to attain in all sectors: buildings, transports, public lighting, wastes and water management. Since the beginning of the 90’s the energy consumption, and the related CO2 emissions, have been particularly influenced by the intensive industrial activities, the housing stock and the mainly private transportation. Torino is the capital city of a region with 4,5 million inhabitants and is located in the centre of a metropolitan area with 1,704,000 inhabitants. Part of the strong industrial legacy of Torino - established from the 50’s onwards – consists of its number of residential and municipal buildings, largely inefficient. This has always been a weak point for the energy performances of the city. The residential sector was responsible for the 40% of CO2 emissions in 1991, and 34% in 2005. However, the implemented strategies have always tried to turn the problem into an opportunity, as shown by the constant expansion of the district heating network. The forecasted CO2 reduction – over 40% between 1991 and 2020 – shows a sharper curve in the next years compared to the past fifteen years. This is due to the implementation of very efficient measures, carried out in a short time period. The key elements of this strategy are the strong improvement of existing buildings energy performances, the exploitation of renewable energies, an innovative mobility plan to reduce the impact of private vehicles in favour of public transports, and a significant increase of the district heating network, based on co-generation, that will cover 45% of the total building stock. A CO2 emission reduction over 40% by 2020 - compared to 1991 values - represents a big challenge for the city. The important industrial asset of Torino makes this goal even more ambitious, since the emission policies of large industrial settlements cannot be decided by a city, which has a limited jurisdiction.