Modelling actions at the building stock level for decision-making towards carbon-neutral cities

The building sector plays a major role in terms of energy consumption and consequently carbon emissions in a city. In a typical European city, the share of CO2 related to this sector is around 40-50%, being the most impacting one. In this context, characterised by high complexity, it is necessary to develop manageable, science-based models that policymakers can use to design and simulate the impact of feasible decarbonisation actions over space and time. This paper presents a simulation platform capable of modelling actions for city decarbonization, particularly focusing on the building sector. Each action is modelled in terms of primary energy exploitation (type and quantity) and its impacts on energy consumption and emissions using a tailored set of metrics. This involves considering the unique characteristics and challenges of the city, such as its existing infrastructure, building stock, energy sources, and policy context. The proposed approach is applied to a real European city to demonstrate its feasibility and assess its effectiveness in achieving emissions reduction targets. The results provide effective support to the municipality in setting up the city action plan towards climate neutrality.