From September, 19 more cities from across Europe will gather speed towards climate neutrality as ‘Twin Cities’ on a knowledge-exchange programme delivered through the EU Cities Mission and the Mission platform, NetZeroCities.
Through the Twinning Learning Programme, Twins are matched with a Pilot City or cluster of Pilot Cities that share common challenges and goals, emphasising collaboration and knowledge exchange throughout the 20-month programme. They will have access to support from world-class practitioners and experts to help them achieve their climate goals.
The 19 cities add to a growing network connecting with the EU’s Cities Mission – which aims to make more than 100 cities climate neutral by 2030 and to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050 – and include 5 cities to join the twinning programme from associated countries of Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation fund.
The Twinning Learning Programme offers concrete support to cities not already engaged with the EU Cities Mission (either as ‘Mission Cities’ or on its previous Pilot or Twin Programmes) and that have already committed to reaching climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, including financial: two in-person trips to and one visit from their Pilot City will be covered by the programme budget.
From the many exchanges within the programme – and potentially beyond when city counterparts maintain direct ties or engage with NetZeroCities – progress on climate action can spread to other cities as shared knowledge on successes are replicated and less-successful avenues avoided.
The next call for applications to become a Twin City (Cohort 3) opened on 10 September and will close on 31 October. Interested cities can read the criteria for applying to the Twinning Learning Programme and how to do so here.
QUOTES FROM SELECTED TWIN CITIES
Cllr Shanika Mahendran, Cabinet Member for Economy, Sustainability and Innovation at Milton Keynes City Council, United Kingdom, said:
“We’re proud to be part of the Cities Mission Twinning Learning Programme to tackle climate change and deliver a healthier future for our citizens. This partnership represents a bold step forward in our commitment to delivering a sustainable future. We look forward to working with Lyon to learn about the work they’re doing and sharing our own experiences as we work together to overcome the barriers we face.”
Javier Ayala, Mayor of Fuenlabrada, Spain, said:
“Fuenlabrada is a city committed to its citizens and its environment. Understanding that working towards climate neutrality is achieving a common good, the opportunity to participate in this programme is an honour and a chance to learn from successful experiences in Europe with the possibility of a faster application in our municipality.”
João Dinis, Climate Action Director for Cascais city, Portugal, said:
“Cities are leading climate action across the world. A crucial leadership to foster a sustainable future for all. The “Twin Cities Cohort” is an inspiring opportunity to foster collaboration between ambitious communities willing to embrace the challenge to reach carbon neutrality by 2030. By embarking in this journey, we hope to share both knowledge and a revitalising energy to create a healthier, competitive, and sustainable living environment for all our residents.”
Dr Balázs Temesvári, CEO of Veszprém Public Utility Ltd., Hungary, said:
“For Veszprém, energy cooperation in the Twinning Learning Programme is important because it provides an opportunity to learn and adapt innovative solutions to increase its knowledge for the joint development of sustainable and renewable energy sources. With new knowledge, Veszpém can further strengthen its commitment to reduce its energy dependency and costs, which will also bring economic benefits. Cooperation will also help to achieve environmental goals, such as reducing carbon emissions. In addition, joint projects can be implemented in the future and knowledge sharing can adapt innovation and technological advances to the development of local systems, which will increase the long-term viability and competitiveness of Veszprém.”
Malin Brännkärr, Mayor of the Municipality of Kronoby, Finland, said:
“It is a true honour to be part of the Cities Mission Twinning Learning Programme: We are pleased to get this opportunity to learn from others how to advance our climate actions – not only in our municipality, but in the whole Jakobstad Region. Together with our regional partners, we aim to maximize the impact of our regional climate plan through the lessons learned in the programme.”
Martine JOLLY, Mayor of Courcy, France, said:
“The municipality of Courcy, supported by the Metropolis of Grand Reims, is proud to join the Cities Mission Twinning Learning Programme and start with the city of Lisbon a peer learning partnership. Sensitive to issues linked with Climate change, we are particularly happy to enable, through the Living Lab Microville Durable 112, the European experimentation of an “Eco²-Campus”; a third place for Climate education that involves schools, neighbourhoods and villages in our territory and thus open up new perspectives for future generations.”
Mark Duncan, Strategic Lead – Resources & Programmes, City Policy, Manchester City Council, United Kingdom, said:
“We are extremely pleased that Manchester has been chosen to be part of the Cities Mission Twinning Learning Programme. There are many transferable features of the Scale Stockholm project, such as co-creation methodologies and joining up health and climate indicators that will add real value to Manchester’s ongoing zero carbon transition. We are also looking forward to sharing Manchester’s experience around governance and leadership, along with key action areas we are taking to meet our own Zero Carbon objectives. We are very excited to commence our learning exchange with Stockholm and being part of this fantastic initiative with so many great European cities all committed to Net Zero.”
Malafis Ioannis, Mayor Of Chios, Greece, said:
“We are honored to be selected as a Twin City in the NetZeroCities Cohort 2. This recognition reinforces our commitment to ambitious climate goals and provides a unique opportunity to collaborate on innovative solutions. With the support of this programme, we will accelerate our transition towards a sustainable, carbon-neutral future while improving the quality of life for our citizens. Together, we aim to set an example of how cities can lead the way in tackling the climate crisis.”
Muhittin Böcek, Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey, said:
“We are proud and delighted to have been selected as a Twin City in this call of the Cities Mission Twinning Learning Programme. This recognition is in line with our municipality’s work to combat climate change and increase the sustainability of Antalya. Through this collaboration, we aim to accelerate our climate action and share knowledge on innovative solutions for a resilient future. Together we can make significant progress towards carbon neutral cities.”
Additional information for editors:
NetZeroCities is a project consortium consisting of 34 partners , managing the EU Cities Mission platform. The project supports the 112 European cities known as the Mission Cities in drastically reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality. The EU Cities Mission supports the European Green Deal in building a low-carbon, climate-resilient future through research and innovation.
Twinning Learning Programme
The Twinning Programme is an 20-month programme that aims to transfer knowledge and build capacities across the Pilot Cities and Twin Cities engaged in the programme. It will start at the end of September 2024 and will end in May 2026 for the cities selected in this second cohort. Twin and Pilot Cities pursuing a similar theme to reach climate neutrality have been matched to shape each other’s development through knowledge exchange and collaborative problem-solving. Relationship building as well as the mutual learning experience are at the core of the exchange.
Upon completion of the programme, Twin Cities will apply relevant learning from Pilot City activities across their own city.
Media contact: Alan MacKenzie – alan.mackenzie@iclei.org
