Even though municipal governments are trying to reduce their carbon emissions, they will still have a considerable carbon footprint in the future. Most of the apartments and flats in the northwest of Europe are still energy inefficient, creating a growing need for a comprehensive approach to the renovation of these buildings.

UM researchers involved in the 'Energy Cities'-project contribute in different ways: they help address the main administrative obstacles, make a scientific contributions to the co-creation processes for sustainable development, and contribute to the creation of methods for financing the refurbishment of these buildings. But they also provide psychological insights that can be used to a change behaviour.

The 'Energy Cities'-project aims to formulate a strategic vision on energy transition that will help bring down legal, personal and financial barriers to the renovation of apartments and flats. It is currently being implemented in six cities: Aberdeen, Antwerp, Frankfurt, Liege, Paris and Maastricht.

CoachCopro - a free tool developed by the Agence Parisienne du Climat - plays a central role in this project. In France, this web-based platform successfully assisted apartment owners and construction professionals. An additional advantage of the project is the creation of jobs - it could potentially yield nineteen jobs for each € 1 million invested. The entire European Energy Cities campaign will last 10 years and will contribute to the improvement of approximately 15,000 households.