On 23rd February 2021, Petronor and Bilbao City Council celebrated the second anniversary of SUM Bilbao and the Declaration of Bilbao Towards a more sustainable urban mobility, in an event that was held at the Azkuna Zentroa in Bilbao.
This event was presented by the Basque journalist, Vanessa Sánchez, and was organised in an in-person and on-line hybrid format. During its 45 minutes, the anniversary of the SUM Bilbao Congress was celebrated and the progress made within the framework of the Declaration of Bilbao was reviewed.
Following the hybrid format, the event included the participation of speakers, both in-person and on-line. In-person participants were the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto; the President of Petronor, Emiliano López Atxurra; the Managing Director of BBK, Gorka Martínez; and the Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Mobility and Sustainability of Bilbao, Alfonso Gil. The President of FEMP, Abel Caballero; the Chairman of EUDEL, Gorka Urtaran; the CEO of Alsa, Francisco Iglesias Campos, and the CEO of Irizar, Rafael Sterling, participated on-line. They are all representatives of some of the public and private institutions that participated in SUM Bilbao 19 and are examples of entities that are committed to energy transition, sustainable mobility and healthy cities.
During their presentations, the speakers mentioned the progress made and the commitment of their organisations to mobility. Juan Mari Aburto highlighted reducing the speed limit for traffic on all roads in Bilbao to 30km/h, making it the first major city in the world to introduce this measure. Emiliano López Atxurra reiterated Petronor’s commitment to energy transition and highlighted the company’s major projects, such as hydrogen generation and the development of synthetic fuels. Gorka Martínez underlined the key role of BBK in the region’s sustainable development, supporting and financing projects related to the generation of renewable energy, energy transition and innovative start-ups.
In addition to the speakers, the event was also attended by representatives of Bilbao City Council’s municipal groups, authorities from the Provincial Council and the Basque Government and representatives of partners and sponsors, such as: BBK, Alsa, Irizar, FCC, Ibil, Kapsch and Edinor. One of the main partners of SUM Bilbao, UCLG, the organisation of United Cities and Local Governments, also participated on-line.
The event concluded with the announcement by Bilbao City Council and Petronor of the next edition of the SUM Bilbao 21 Congress, which will be held in the capital of Bizkaia on 6th and 7th October. This Congress will address the most important and current issues related to mobility and energy and major stakeholders will participate.
