In a low-carbon society we will live and work in low-energy and low-emission buildings with intelligent heating and cooling systems. We will drive electric and hybrid cars and live in cleaner cities with less air pollution and better public transport. The energy will be produced only from the renewable sources using wind, water, sun and geothermal energy. By achieving all this, Europe will become more competitive, energy independent as well as more healthy place to live.

However, there is a long path to achieve this kind of future. To keep the climate change below 2˚C the whole world will have to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% compared to 1990. Europe has set high goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80-95% by 2050.

The key challenges are sustainable transport, smart grids, energy efficiency, sustainable construction, smart financing schemes and low carbon innovation. Resource efficiency and environmental protection go hand in hand with sustainable energy challenges. But, as always, the citizens’ responsibility toward the environment will decide success or failure.    

Many technologies exist today, but need to be promoted and developed further. Organizational innovations, for example, cooperatives and energy-balanced communities will become increasingly important in the following years. Smart multi-model transport and new organizational solutions will play an important role in achieving low emissions in this sector. Energy efficiency innovations and their market uptake will be crucial for energy efficiency. An additional understanding of barriers and drivers, motivation factors enabling energy efficiency and energy efficient behaviour will be needed to establish alow-carbon society of the future.