Enel Argentina attended the latest edition of the C40 World Mayors Summit, held this year in Buenos Aires, along with over 100 mayors, international delegates, local governors, philanthropists, young people, and critical stakeholders.
The summit, held every three years, offered the chance to discuss topics related to climate change and the need to move towards more concrete actions to address it. Enel presented its e-mobility proposals and, along with Enel Trading, the clean energy options available for companies.
In this line, the Enel Director for Latin America, Maurizio Bezzeccheri, participated in panels with other sector leaders to analyze how cities and companies can work together to retrain workers and create green jobs. When talking about green jobs, Bezzeccheri said that “there's no other option today,” claiming that “we go in that direction, or we don't go anywhere at all.”
Meanwhile, when discussing smart cities, he explained that the name was initially given to cities that adopted smart technologies. Now, the concept is evolving into a circular city because while technology is a facilitating factor, we “also have to ensure economic competitiveness, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion.”
In addition, he proposed the need to redefine city regulations that are still based on old standards and systems. In the case of electricity, he explained that this must address generation, transmission, and distribution. Now we have prosumers, that is, people who consume but who also produce electricity.
“Consumption is going to change. That is why we need to move from a linear mindset to a circular one, looking at the complete lifecycle of assets and making sure our products and assets last longer. We are moving towards the electrification of consumption."
Furthermore, Bezzeccheri led to the "Transition towards circular cities in Latin America and the Caribbean," an event emphasizing the challenge of decarbonization and electrification in the region. The event organizers included the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the C40, the City of Buenos Aires, and Enel.
The summit also featured essential speakers such as Jose Luis Samaniego, Director of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements for ECLAC; Carolina Piedrafita, Senior Specialist in Urban Development and Housing, for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Rodrigo Perpétuo, Executive Director for South America, for ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Vanessa Esslinger, Circular Economy expert for the UN environment program; Clara Muzzio, Minister of Public Space and Urban Hygiene for the City of Buenos Aires; Antonio Muñoz Martinez, Mayor of Seville, Spain, and Jheydi Quiroz, Mayor of Lima.
Website Ciudades Circulares: CEPAL organiza evento paralelo "Colaboración de ciudades hacia la circularidad: experiencias latinoamericanas y europeas", en el marco de la Cumbre Mundial de Alcaldes de C40 | Plataforma Urbana y de Ciudades
YouTube CEPAL: (9) Colaboración de ciudades hacia la circularidad: experiencias latinoamericanas y europeas - YouTube