Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Latvia in collaboration with the trade fair “Environment and Energy” organized an international conference "Nordic-Baltic Energy and Climate Challenge" held at Altum Conference Hall, Riga on 18 October 2018.
The conference aimed to contextualise Baltic and Nordic cities in a regional framework, highlighting the ongoing changes in urban development due to the EU regulations as well as the latest technical solutions.
The timing of the event was in accordance with the annual exhibition “Environment and Energy”, which took place at Kipsala International Exhibition Centre from 19–21 October 2018. On 19th October, the second day of the conference, the participants of the conference had the opportunity to visit the exhibition opening, followed by cluster presentations and B2B networking.
The target audience was primarily municipal and national policy-makers and the private sector – i.e., visionaries and developers of the future cities.
Circular economy and smart mobility are increasingly popular concepts which also feature in the new EU economic models, as they can offer a better framework for environmentally friendly economic activities.
Nordic and Baltic cities are comparatively modest in size, but they seem to be offering exactly the kind of balance between nature and urbanity that the interconnected modern world needs. For the average-sized cities to become attractive for modern living, they must constantly change. Cities that generate waste and CO2 emissions will stay in the past – replaced by future cities that are willing to make their own contribution to solving the challenges of climate change and environmental pollution.
The presentations:
Mārtiņš Zemītis - “New EU Directives to Influence Mobility and Circularity in Latvia”
Janis Patmalnieks - "Latvian National Energy and Climate Plan for 2021-2030"
Neils Balgalis - “Future Cities, Present Challenges”
Panel discussion “Baltic perspective” (video)
Panel discussion “Bumpy Road to Urban Change in Latvia" (video)
Svend Søyland - “Energy-Conscious Mobility and Beyond: Oslo Example – Failures and Successes”
Silje Fines Wannebo - “The Norwegian Electric Vehicle Success”
Panel discussion “Transformation to Smarter Mobility” (video)
Dr. Kyösti Lempa - “Circular Economy in Service Sector: Nordic and Baltic Cities as a Testbed”
Mieke De Schoenmakere - “The Circular Economy and the Bioeconomy”
Panel discussion “Transformation to Smarter Circularity” (video)
