ABSTRACT

This chapter presents the climate policies and instruments used and developed by the municipal governments of Amsterdam and Almere to promote new housing projects that surpass the current Energy Performance Coefficient (EPC). Research on municipal climate governance, focusing on the planning of energy-neutral new housing developments has not received much attention in the international literature. Local authorities are faced with barriers that prevent them to structurally implement options for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reduction in their daily practice. Local authorities are the tier of government that is closest to the citizen. Climate change is an example of multi-level decision-making. In many northern European countries, municipalities have specific competencies for the direct provision of energy, waste and transport services. The Dutch government intends to increase the energy performance standard for new dwellings step by step to an energy-neutral level by 2020.