The role of the citizen in sustainability: the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan for the Municipality of Assisi

The growth of population and the consequent urbanization represent one of the main factors driving environmental degradation and the exploitation of energy resources. In recent years, the use of strategies and policies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumptions are being developed worldwide. Several initiatives and programmes were drawn up at global level, but it has become necessary to implement sustainable policies also at local scale. The Covenant of Mayors represents an important resource for local administrations, as it allows the drawing up of Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs), in order to move towards more sustainable and resilient cities. In this context, the proposed work aims to investigate the role of the single citizen on the energy and environmental budget of a case-study municipality. The study builds on the SECAP of Assisi, a small city of approximately 28000 inhabitants in central Italy. The main goal of the Assisi’s SECAP is the reduction of at least 40% of CO2 emission by 2030, with respect to the 2008 baseline emissions. To this end, the implementation of actions that involve only the public sector are certainly insufficient to achieve such an ambitious goal and the contribution of citizens could be fundamental. For this purpose, the paper aims to explore, through the analysis of the past and forecast future consumptions of each sector, the importance that citizens and private stakeholders could have in achieving the SECAP goals, especially throughout building efficiency and the evolution of private and commercial transport.