Abstract
Climate protection targets call for a transition towards sustainable energy systems based on energy saving, more energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. The options for energy strategies are highly shaped by local and regional spatial contexts like urban, suburban or rural areas or small towns embedded in rural or suburban areas. Both energy efficiency and renewable energy potentials are determined by these spatial contexts, so taking them into consideration leads to more realistic energy strategies. Therefore, integrated spatial and energy planning is an important field of action in order to reach Sustainable Development Goal 7—clean and affordable energy. In this conceptual paper, the ideas and basic principles of integrated spatial and energy planning are introduced, and it is discussed, how this concept might help not only to reach the energy transition but might also support further sustainable development goals. The paper is based on research results gained from Austrian experiences.
Highlights
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as agreed in the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York set a global framework for the transition towards sustainable development
Looking at the specific targets until 2030, (1) universal access to clean, affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services shall be granted to all people, (2) the share of renewable energy shall be substantially increased on a global scale, (3) the global rate of energy efficiency improvements shall be doubled, (4) investments in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology shall be promoted, and (5) energy infrastructure shall be modernized, inter alia, to provide sustainable energy services in developing countries (United Nations n.y.)
The whole initiative for integrated spatial and energy planning (ISEP) is based on the Styrian Spatial Planning Act, where municipalities are entitled to adopt concepts of ISEP as part of their local development strategies striving for energy efficiency and an increase in renewable energy provision
Summary
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as agreed in the 2015 UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York set a global framework for the transition towards sustainable development. To address the interrelations between spatial structures and the possibilities to shape the energy transition, the concept of integrated spatial and energy planning (ISEP) was elaborated in Austria in the last decade This concept starts to influence policy making on all levels of government—from national to regional and municipal level. In this article, these experiences of the last ten years of work are summarized in chapters 2 and 3 based on own published work, so that the ideas of ISEP can be introduced to the community of evolutionary economists, which is the first purpose of this article. The article corresponds to an invited presentation that was held at the 7th international symposium 2018: “Let’s Work Together Toward Achieving Sustainable Development Goals” organized by the Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (GSAIS) at Kyoto University
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