Interview

This is the third and final interview in our series on the De-Cist sustainability project. The Developing Energy Communities with Intelligent and Sustainable Technologies (DE-CIST) project is led by Dr Rebecca Moody (EUR) and brings together Erasmus University Rotterdam, TU Delft, Institute of Housing and Urban Development Studies, Resilient Delta Initiative, Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics and the Municipality of Rotterdam. Supported by ICLEI Europe with a €1 million Google.org grant, we talk to Alexander Los, climatologist at the IHS, about air quality, transdisciplinarity and how scientific models can bridge to policy.

From a missed opportunity to perfect timing

When Alexander Los was approached by colleague Nicolette Stehouwer, he was already familiar with the project. “I had tried to write a proposal around CO₂ emissions before, but that got stuck. When Nicolette pointed it out to me again, it turned out to fit very well with an ongoing Convergence project.” That overlap created and extraordinary “synergy” effect, with the advanced models for one project getting a very different application within the new De-Cist project.

Not climate models, but air quality models

Although he expanded large-scale climate models as a climatologist, Los uses more specific, regional models within De-Cist. “We work with coupled weather and air quality models. These are not climate models that look decades ahead, but tools that predict the impact of, for example, housing renovations on air quality and CO₂ emissions at neighbourhood level.” That approach enables targeted advice to municipalities on their policy choices.

Social values in a technical model

What Los finds special about De-Cist is that the project combines technological models with social needs. “We are not only looking at the cheapest solution, but also at what residents want or need. Someone who is planning to renovate anyway may want a more expensive measure if there is funding in return.” It is an example of what Los calls ‘building values from society into technical scenarios.’

Transdisciplinarity in practice

Like Pablo Morato and Isis van Rooy in previous interviews, Los also stresses the importance (and challenge) of transdisciplinary collaboration. “As a climate scientist, I was used to working in a purely disciplinary environment. But working with social scientists shows how much added value there is in looking at climate issues together.” Yet this collaboration did not always run smoothly. “The ways of reasoning sometimes clash. But the realisation that we need each other was there with everyone. And that is already worth a lot.”

This experience fits seamlessly with the vision of the Resilient Delta initiative, where cooperation between disciplines is seen as key to solving complex urban challenges. ‘Without that cross-fertilisation, we probably would not have been able to develop such an applicable tool,’ says Los.

Giving back to society

Los is outspoken about what he hopes the project delivers: “That the municipality actually uses it. And that they feed back what they do with it, so that we can move forward again.” The AI tool is currently being finalised by TU Delft and will be implemented by the municipality. There are ideas to make it accessible to residents through a portal. ‘Once people can analyse their own energy demand, it creates ownership and new data for our research,’ Los says with a smile.

A stepping stone to more

With the end of De-Cist in sight, Los reflects on the future. “We have learned a lot in a short time about collaboration, modelling and social impact. It would be a shame if it stops there.” Although follow-up funding is pending, the ambition is there. “If we can build further on this foundation, we can mean a lot more. Not only for Rotterdam, but also for other cities worldwide.”

De-Cist shows how scientific insights and societal needs can reinforce each other. By combining technology, data and human values, the project offers a blueprint for how we can work together towards a sustainable and fair energy transition.