How to create safer and healthier cities with connected and solar lighting using new financing mechanisms.

This session shows with four scalable solutions how efficient, connected lighting cuts energy costs, improves safety, security, and livability, and helps cities advance their emissions‑reduction plans. (1) Connected, efficient lighting to optimize energy use, dimming, fault detection, and maintenance; (2) Solar lighting to provide off‑grid resilience and equitable access in underserved areas; (3) Lighting for safety and security; (4) Job creation through renovation, as cities replace mercury‑containing lamps with clean LEDs in line with the Minamata rules, upgrades, surveying, installation, operations and maintenance, recycling, and circular practices. Renovation at scale demands capacity‑building for municipality, partnerships (between cities, ESCOs, utilities, finance, and manufacturers), and innovative business models such as Lighting‑as‑a‑Service to overcome upfront cost barriers. With energy prices rising and cities entering a new age of electrification, optimizing consumption in lighting frees power for other end‑uses (transport, heating, cooling) while lowering bills and emissions. Practical cases from municipalities that have successfully completed the transition are in.