Conference article

In 2004 the Council of the Federal Polytechnics of Switzerland proposed that the country’s per capita primary energy demand should be reduced by a factor of three from its current average of around 6kW to 2kW – the current global average – by 2150. During the past six years the semantics of this proposition have been much debated; but the concept has won overall favour; with several cities voicing their support. Indeed in November 2009 the inhabitants of the city of Zürich voted in favour of applying the 2kW city concept to their city; but targeting the year 2050. Thus; the city of Zürich is now committed to understanding which strategies should be employed and when; to achieve 2kW city status. But the city is not naïve; it fully appreciates that this target is ambitious and will only be realised through commitment and a multiplicity of transition strategies; some of which have already been implemented. But to understand; which are the most promising future strategies will require some form of predictive model. In this paper we describe one such model; which is currently under development; and the strategies that may be tested by it as well as outlining the already implemented strategies.

Urban sustainability; Environmental politics; Micro-simulation