A panel of urban planning experts described the challenges facing the energy industry in providing for the world's expanding urban populations during Monday afternoon's "Energy and Urban Innovation" session, chaired by Jose Antonio Vargas Lleras of the WEC Colombian Member Committee. Lleras opened the discussion noting that The World Energy Council, in the interest of a sustainable energy future, has completed a study that outlines the challenges that large and mega-cities, or those with more than 10 million people, face. "They analyzed the technical and policy actions that must take place and the role the energy industry and business can play in designing and implementing efficient solutions to improving energy access," Lleras said.

"The history of almost every nation is not the history of its frontiers, but the history of its cities," said Martin Chavez, executive director, ICLEI, an international association of local governments and national and regional local government organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. "People leave the ranch and farm and go to the cities; we are social creatures. Today more humans live in cities than do not."

As the World Energy Council has reported, rapid urbanization of the world population will continue to be a strong trend in coming decades. In fact, 50% of the world's population lives in cities; by 2030, that percentage will increase to 60%. "To understand energy for the future, we must understand the urban environment," Chavez said.

Toward this end, Chavez noted that the ICLEI provides software and tools to help local governments achieve their sustainable development goals. Services include education and training, facilitating networking and city-to-city exchanges, and offering technical services and consultancy. ICLEI members receive planning toolkits and help with climate action plans. "The goal is to transform the way we plan -- to transform the process, because to transform the process is to transform our communities," Chavez said. "There's an old saying," he added, "If you're not at the table, you may be on the menu. We encourage local governments to be at the table."

Escalating demands for energy access range across a range of sectors, said Jas Sing, senior energy efficiency specialist, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), Energy, Transport and Water Dept., The World Bank. These sectors include building and public housing; water and wastewater; transport; public lighting; solid waste; and power and heating. "The priority is on developing key services and expanding access," he said. "Barriers to energy efficiency – the reasons it doesn't happen – is spread across many stakeholders." These include policy and regulatory as well as public end-users, he noted. Where should a city start? According to Sing, the answer is retrofitting existing public facilities, next moving to non-public buildings and services, and then integrating "green" initiatives.

In discussing procurement options, he added, "The bottom line is there is no one or two or three models; we found that for each challenge we identified, there is a full range of what countries have done. This presents a continuum of options for the most pressing challenges. There are many different things governments can do."

Pradeep Chaturvedi, chairman, Indian Association for the Advancement of Science, focused on a study of Delhi, and the challenges resulting from explosive urban growth. "(Energy-related issues present) macro problems, and are hard to break down into micro (elements)," he said. "There is not one uniform solution. Ensuring the quality of life – with sustainable water and social amenities for example -- is the challenge many cities are facing around the globe." He added, "(These issues require) a lot of careful planning, manpower, financing and communication; these should be our greatest concerns."