The chosen cities will receive support to implement clean mobility, energy efficiency and green urban planning actions
The European Commission announced the selected cities for the EU Mission for Climate-neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 (Cities Mission). 112 cities in total from all 27 EU member states, along with 12 additional cities from associated countries, will become climate neutrality pioneers with the support of over €360 million in funding.
Of those selected, 44 cities are ICLEI members (list below) — a demonstration of the commitment among the ICLEI network to their journey toward climate neutrality! ICLEI is a part of the NetZeroCities project, which is the Platform for the Cities Mission and provides tailored support to each city.
The chosen cities will receive support to implement clean mobility, energy efficiency and green urban planning actions, alongside collaboration opportunities with other EU programmes and avenues to additional funding. Networking with other cities and knowledge exchange will be at the core of the mission.
Wolfgang Teubner, Managing Director of ICLEI Europe, notes: “We are incredibly proud to announce that 44 of our ICLEI members are going to take part in the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission. Cities are major drivers of the transformative shifts needed to address the climate emergency, and we're ready to help them accelerate their ambition. Along with 30+ other partners, ICLEI Europe is deeply involved in the NetZeroCities project as part of the Mission Platform, guiding the development of Climate City Contracts, coordinating advisory City Panels, and much more.”
As a next step, the Commission will invite the selected cities to develop ‘Climate City Contracts’ - a frame for climate neutrality across all sectors with associated investment plans. The contracts will be developed in collaboration with citizens, research organisations and the private sector. For the rest of the 377 applicants to the mission, the Commission and ICLEI will support them through sharing knowledge on the NetZeroCities platform, to enable them to reap benefits from the process as well.
