Participants at the closing session of the Roadmap review process, September 2024. From left to right, top row: Ana Merenciano, Red Cross; Enrique Santiso, EMT; Beatriz Ramirez, NESI Forum; Juan Azcárate, Madrid City Council; Elisa Carbonell, EAPN Madrid; Arantxa García, Save the Children; Irene García, Madrid City Council; Herminia Fernández Mensaque, Madrid City Council; Celia Sierra, Progestión; Irene Ezquerra, itdUPM; Lina Valderrama, itdUPM; Raffaele Sisto, Smart & City. Bottom row: Pedro Amenábar, itdUPM; Carlos Marigil, Ingerop; Fernando del Valle, Madrid City Council; Kois Casadevante, Tangente; Irene Álvarez, Ingerop; Caren Camiscia, itdUPM. Photographer: Paula Beltrán
In recent weeks, the updated version of Madrid’s Roadmap to Climate Neutrality was published, integrating a social perspective throughout. This strategy review was conducted through a collaborative process led by Madrid City Council’s General Directorate of Energy and Climate Change, supported by the Innovation Center for Human Development Technology at the Technical University of Madrid (itdUPM). The review process, which began in April 2023 and concluded with a session this past September, involved six working sessions with seven municipal areas, eleven third-sector organizations, and six private companies.
DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION OF MADRID’S ROADMAP TO CLIMATE NEUTRALITY
The Roadmap to Climate Neutrality is a strategic document affirming Madrid’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Presented in March 2021, it includes measures to reduce emissions in sectors with the highest mitigation potential. The six strategic pillars it addresses are: electricity decarbonization, energy efficiency in residential and service sector buildings, promotion of sustainable transportation, waste management, and emission reductions in other sectors.
Since 2023, as part of the roadmap’s review, the City Council’s General Directorate of Energy and Climate Change has placed greater emphasis on analyzing the connection between social inequalities and climate change to strengthen the strategy’s social dimension. This has involved identifying how existing inequalities affect progress on the strategy and assessing the social impacts of proposed measures. The goal of the roadmap improvement process is to prevent climate policies from worsening inequalities, promoting instead a transition that fosters equity, inclusion, and dignified employment.
Inequalities are a multidimensional phenomenon affecting various aspects of life, and in the context of climate change, their impact is even greater, especially for vulnerable individuals and communities. Factors such as gender, age, immigration status, or disability affect how people experience the effects of climate change, exacerbating existing inequalities.
To address this complexity in revising the roadmap and incorporating the social dimension, the team adopted the European Union’s Multidimensional Inequality Monitoring Framework. This framework identifies nine key dimensions, including access to education, health, living conditions, employment, and the environmental setting, which are crucial for comprehensively addressing inequality.
Integrating the social dimension into climate mitigation policies means ensuring that transitions toward sustainability not only reduce emissions but also consider existing inequalities and avoid creating new divides. This requires effective coordination across different levels of government, municipal departments, and social stakeholders.
The primary objective of the roadmap review was to incorporate the social dimension through a collective interpretation approach. The methodology included several phases, starting with a literature review and an analysis of the social dimension in mobility and housing sectors, which together generate 75% of emissions. A listening and collective interpretation process with key stakeholders was then conducted to identify areas for improvement in the roadmap and related policies. Finally, contributions were consolidated and included in the new version of the roadmap.
The innovation of this process was its collaborative nature, involving active participation from third-sector organizations, private companies, and various municipal areas. This approach allowed for evaluating the social impacts of decarbonization measures, identifying and adjusting actions to promote equity, generate dignified employment, and prevent increased inequalities, while fostering new relationships among participating organizations. The collaboration between the public sector, third sector, and private sector, facilitated by itdUPM, was essential in developing a more holistic and inclusive vision.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROCESS
At the closing session in September, Juan Azcárate, Deputy Director General of Energy and Climate Change for Madrid City Council, highlighted the key aspects of the roadmap update process. He noted that this process helped address concerns that climate policies might exacerbate inequalities without citizen participation. He emphasized the importance of integrating a social perspective into the roadmap, noting that while it sets clear technical goals for emissions reduction, the social dimension is equally essential. Azcárate underscored the importance of working to embed this dimension throughout, avoiding relegation to a specific section, and developing criteria and tools to prevent negative impacts on the most vulnerable sectors. Among the preliminary outcomes, he mentioned the inclusion of a specific social analysis in the 2024 update, as well as a chapter on socioeconomic context in the monitoring indicators.
Beyond revising the document, the process achieved other results, such as raising awareness among City Council staff who participated in the sessions, which will enable the inclusion of social elements in future actions. An example was the ClimaX “This Playground is a World” event held at the Navas de Tolosa School in San Cristóbal de los Ángeles (Villaverde District), an event aimed at bringing the spirit of the Climate Commitment, celebrated annually in the city center, to neighborhoods and communities. This initiative also had an external impact, positioning Madrid as a reference in international forums like C40 and citiES 2030, where experiences on a just transition were shared.
However, Azcárate acknowledged challenges in managing expectations derived from the process and the need to continue reflecting on sectors such as waste, food waste, and textiles. Moving forward, the challenge will be to maintain open dialogue with social organizations and workshop participants. Although the review has met its goal, continuing to integrate the social dimension is essential to ensure that climate policies become more equitable.
EAPN Madrid and the Progestión Association presented the results of a complementary report focused on the question: How does the energy transition and climate change affect Madrid’s most vulnerable communities?
To address this, a research study developed a theoretical framework on key concepts of a just transition, analyzing various related studies and projects. A review of the regulatory framework followed, assessing not only Madrid’s plans and policies but also just transition measures in other regions and cities to identify best practices and experiences. Reviewed reports included those from cities and regions like Donostia, Bilbao, the Basque Country, Asturias, and the Canary Islands.
The report includes a section that provides a detailed view of vulnerable populations in Madrid, addressing their socioeconomic status, inequalities, and climate vulnerability. It presents data combining climate vulnerability and inequality maps, enabling an understanding of the impact of climate change at the district level.
The document concludes with recommendations, emphasizing the need to integrate the social dimension into energy transition plans using indicators, measures, and strategies that address climate and territorial inequalities. It also proposes initiatives such as rental-based housing subsidies and income-based transportation support to ensure a fairer ecological transition..
“Sharing sustainable practices within communities creates an amplifying and empowering effect on people. This has an emotional component, and people begin to believe they can be relevant social change agents.”
ELISA CARBONELL, EAPN MADRID
In the same closing session, a space for dialogue and reflection was opened among all those present on how the Roadmap revision process has been.
Those present highlighted the value of collaborative work and the diversity of perspectives, as well as the importance of maintaining the continuity of these meetings, ensuring that the lessons learned go beyond the publication of the document. One of the challenges and feelings mentioned was the frustration that arises between strategic planning and project implementation, as processes are often slowed down by competency issues. However, it was recognized that these obstacles represent valuable learning opportunities.
The idea of just transition was further elaborated, highlighting the need to broaden it beyond the traditional conception, which focuses on job loss, by linking it to climate neutrality and the urban environment. In this context, the receptiveness of the Madrid City Council was acknowledged, recognizing the efforts of the various departments that participated in the process. A challenge for the future will be to involve other departments, especially those with more operational activities, in order to integrate their plans with the objectives of the Roadmap. The risk of bias was noted, given that the people most involved in decision-making do not always represent the groups most affected.
Emphasis was placed on the need to continue to address the climate transition from differentiated approaches for different audiences.
It was emphasized that not all segments of the population share the same priorities or access to resources, which requires prioritizing specific actions for each group, considering both individual and collective aspects In addition, emphasis was placed on the recovery of community spaces in neighborhoods to strengthen collective life, as strategies to strengthen the Roadmap.
These actions make it possible to recover the loss of social infrastructure that has weakened the associative dynamics.
Another key issue was the growing polarization between the center and the periphery in decarbonization policies, as in the case of Madrid 360. While progress is being made on environmental issues, such as the decarbonization of the EMT, social policies are not being effectively integrated. In this regard, it was discussed how to create better information channels to connect the different communities, especially the most vulnerable, which require greater investments to avoid deepening existing inequalities. In addition, the interest in prioritizing policies that have a positive impact on the community and on all socioeconomic strata, such as public transportation, as opposed to policies that seek an individual impact, such as subsidies for electric vehicles, was highlighted.
Participants agreed that participatory processes are most effective when accompanied by tangible resources and short implementation timeframes, as this allows for real results in a reasonable amount of time.
Frustration among the younger groups was also a recurring theme, given that, despite their high environmental awareness, they live in degraded environments and face difficulties in dialoguing with the City Council.
Looking ahead, opportunities were mentioned for incorporating the learnings from the Roadmap into the revision of the city’s general plan and redesign of its future. It was suggested to strengthen interdepartmental collaboration and connect urban policies, such as urban regeneration, with social aspects, creating spaces such as school playgrounds or squares that reinforce community life. The relevance of promoting participatory processes that are not limited to urban interventions, but that influence the design of public policies and contracting processes was also emphasized, drawing on the knowledge of all the organizations involved.
This process is part of a larger project in which itdUPM is working closely with the General Subdirectorate for Energy and Climate Change of the Madrid City Council to integrate the social dimension in climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and inspire other cities to move towards a just transition.
In recent weeks, the updated version of Madrid’s Roadmap to Climate Neutrality was published, integrating a social perspective throughout. This strategy review was conducted through a collaborative process led by Madrid City Council’s General Directorate of Energy and Climate Change, supported by the Innovation Center for Human Development Technology at the Technical University of Madrid (itdUPM). The review process, which began in April 2023 and concluded with a session this past September, involved six working sessions with seven municipal areas, eleven third-sector organizations, and six private companies.
DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION OF MADRID’S ROADMAP TO CLIMATE NEUTRALITY
The Roadmap to Climate Neutrality is a strategic document affirming Madrid’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% by 2030 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Presented in March 2021, it includes measures to reduce emissions in sectors with the highest mitigation potential. The six strategic pillars it addresses are: electricity decarbonization, energy efficiency in residential and service sector buildings, promotion of sustainable transportation, waste management, and emission reductions in other sectors.
Since 2023, as part of the roadmap’s review, the City Council’s General Directorate of Energy and Climate Change has placed greater emphasis on analyzing the connection between social inequalities and climate change to strengthen the strategy’s social dimension. This has involved identifying how existing inequalities affect progress on the strategy and assessing the social impacts of proposed measures. The goal of the roadmap improvement process is to prevent climate policies from worsening inequalities, promoting instead a transition that fosters equity, inclusion, and dignified employment.
Inequalities are a multidimensional phenomenon affecting various aspects of life, and in the context of climate change, their impact is even greater, especially for vulnerable individuals and communities. Factors such as gender, age, immigration status, or disability affect how people experience the effects of climate change, exacerbating existing inequalities.
To address this complexity in revising the roadmap and incorporating the social dimension, the team adopted the European Union’s Multidimensional Inequality Monitoring Framework. This framework identifies nine key dimensions, including access to education, health, living conditions, employment, and the environmental setting, which are crucial for comprehensively addressing inequality.
Integrating the social dimension into climate mitigation policies means ensuring that transitions toward sustainability not only reduce emissions but also consider existing inequalities and avoid creating new divides. This requires effective coordination across different levels of government, municipal departments, and social stakeholders.
The primary objective of the roadmap review was to incorporate the social dimension through a collective interpretation approach. The methodology included several phases, starting with a literature review and an analysis of the social dimension in mobility and housing sectors, which together generate 75% of emissions. A listening and collective interpretation process with key stakeholders was then conducted to identify areas for improvement in the roadmap and related policies. Finally, contributions were consolidated and included in the new version of the roadmap.
The innovation of this process was its collaborative nature, involving active participation from third-sector organizations, private companies, and various municipal areas. This approach allowed for evaluating the social impacts of decarbonization measures, identifying and adjusting actions to promote equity, generate dignified employment, and prevent increased inequalities, while fostering new relationships among participating organizations. The collaboration between the public sector, third sector, and private sector, facilitated by itdUPM, was essential in developing a more holistic and inclusive vision.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROCESS
At the closing session in September, Juan Azcárate, Deputy Director General of Energy and Climate Change for Madrid City Council, highlighted the key aspects of the roadmap update process. He noted that this process helped address concerns that climate policies might exacerbate inequalities without citizen participation. He emphasized the importance of integrating a social perspective into the roadmap, noting that while it sets clear technical goals for emissions reduction, the social dimension is equally essential. Azcárate underscored the importance of working to embed this dimension throughout, avoiding relegation to a specific section, and developing criteria and tools to prevent negative impacts on the most vulnerable sectors. Among the preliminary outcomes, he mentioned the inclusion of a specific social analysis in the 2024 update, as well as a chapter on socioeconomic context in the monitoring indicators.
Beyond revising the document, the process achieved other results, such as raising awareness among City Council staff who participated in the sessions, which will enable the inclusion of social elements in future actions. An example was the ClimaX “This Playground is a World” event held at the Navas de Tolosa School in San Cristóbal de los Ángeles (Villaverde District), an event aimed at bringing the spirit of the Climate Commitment, celebrated annually in the city center, to neighborhoods and communities. This initiative also had an external impact, positioning Madrid as a reference in international forums like C40 and citiES 2030, where experiences on a just transition were shared.
However, Azcárate acknowledged challenges in managing expectations derived from the process and the need to continue reflecting on sectors such as waste, food waste, and textiles. Moving forward, the challenge will be to maintain open dialogue with social organizations and workshop participants. Although the review has met its goal, continuing to integrate the social dimension is essential to ensure that climate policies become more equitable.
EAPN Madrid and the Progestión Association presented the results of a complementary report focused on the question: How does the energy transition and climate change affect Madrid’s most vulnerable communities?
To address this, a research study developed a theoretical framework on key concepts of a just transition, analyzing various related studies and projects. A review of the regulatory framework followed, assessing not only Madrid’s plans and policies but also just transition measures in other regions and cities to identify best practices and experiences. Reviewed reports included those from cities and regions like Donostia, Bilbao, the Basque Country, Asturias, and the Canary Islands.
The report includes a section that provides a detailed view of vulnerable populations in Madrid, addressing their socioeconomic status, inequalities, and climate vulnerability. It presents data combining climate vulnerability and inequality maps, enabling an understanding of the impact of climate change at the district level.
The document concludes with recommendations, emphasizing the need to integrate the social dimension into energy transition plans using indicators, measures, and strategies that address climate and territorial inequalities. It also proposes initiatives such as rental-based housing subsidies and income-based transportation support to ensure a fairer ecological transition..
“Sharing sustainable practices within communities creates an amplifying and empowering effect on people. This has an emotional component, and people begin to believe they can be relevant social change agents.”
ELISA CARBONELL, EAPN MADRID
In the same closing session, a space for dialogue and reflection was opened among all those present on how the Roadmap revision process has been.
Those present highlighted the value of collaborative work and the diversity of perspectives, as well as the importance of maintaining the continuity of these meetings, ensuring that the lessons learned go beyond the publication of the document. One of the challenges and feelings mentioned was the frustration that arises between strategic planning and project implementation, as processes are often slowed down by competency issues. However, it was recognized that these obstacles represent valuable learning opportunities.
The idea of just transition was further elaborated, highlighting the need to broaden it beyond the traditional conception, which focuses on job loss, by linking it to climate neutrality and the urban environment. In this context, the receptiveness of the Madrid City Council was acknowledged, recognizing the efforts of the various departments that participated in the process. A challenge for the future will be to involve other departments, especially those with more operational activities, in order to integrate their plans with the objectives of the Roadmap. The risk of bias was noted, given that the people most involved in decision-making do not always represent the groups most affected.
Emphasis was placed on the need to continue to address the climate transition from differentiated approaches for different audiences.
It was emphasized that not all segments of the population share the same priorities or access to resources, which requires prioritizing specific actions for each group, considering both individual and collective aspects In addition, emphasis was placed on the recovery of community spaces in neighborhoods to strengthen collective life, as strategies to strengthen the Roadmap.
These actions make it possible to recover the loss of social infrastructure that has weakened the associative dynamics.
Another key issue was the growing polarization between the center and the periphery in decarbonization policies, as in the case of Madrid 360. While progress is being made on environmental issues, such as the decarbonization of the EMT, social policies are not being effectively integrated. In this regard, it was discussed how to create better information channels to connect the different communities, especially the most vulnerable, which require greater investments to avoid deepening existing inequalities. In addition, the interest in prioritizing policies that have a positive impact on the community and on all socioeconomic strata, such as public transportation, as opposed to policies that seek an individual impact, such as subsidies for electric vehicles, was highlighted.
Participants agreed that participatory processes are most effective when accompanied by tangible resources and short implementation timeframes, as this allows for real results in a reasonable amount of time.
Frustration among the younger groups was also a recurring theme, given that, despite their high environmental awareness, they live in degraded environments and face difficulties in dialoguing with the City Council.
Looking ahead, opportunities were mentioned for incorporating the learnings from the Roadmap into the revision of the city’s general plan and redesign of its future. It was suggested to strengthen interdepartmental collaboration and connect urban policies, such as urban regeneration, with social aspects, creating spaces such as school playgrounds or squares that reinforce community life. The relevance of promoting participatory processes that are not limited to urban interventions, but that influence the design of public policies and contracting processes was also emphasized, drawing on the knowledge of all the organizations involved.
This process is part of a larger project in which itdUPM is working closely with the General Subdirectorate for Energy and Climate Change of the Madrid City Council to integrate the social dimension in climate change mitigation and adaptation policies and inspire other cities to move towards a just transition.
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+34 910 67 13 97 | itd@upm.es
Av.Complutense s/n. Ciudad
Universitaria, 28040 Madrid (España)
© itdUPM 2024 | Centro de Innovación en Tecnología para el Desarrollo Humano. | by Marmarru Studio
