Before the 2010/11 earthquakes Christchurch had a range of smart energy initiatives, including: the tri-generation plant that provided power, heating and cooling for the City Council Building, Art Gallery, Arts' Centre, harnessing methane from the landfill for heating and power; and the electric city centre buses. Although the rebuilding efforts have not restored all of these initiatives, 2012 will see a new city emerge.
CAfE will work on developing eco/energy tourism and a map of our city for visitors. Christchurch can be an energy efficient city and this can be a real point of difference for tourism, academic and scientific collaboration and research and development. Malmo in Sweden Sweden and Delft in the Netherlands have led the way and Christchurch can do the same for the southern hemisphere. CAfE will develop this concept through 2012 - 2013. Christchurch is already a member of the European Association of Energy Efficient Cities and we can develop this relationship further.