Anne-Charlotte Costabadie, Author at NetZeroCities

‘All cities are frontrunners for the climate transition’: how leading cities are taking others with them towards sustainability

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-12-15T12:21:22+01:00December 15th, 2025|

Author: Alan MacKenzie Over 100 cities are racing to reach climate neutrality as part of the EU Cities Mission – but their work stretches much further in pursuit of a critical second goal. Keen to share its experience, Mannheim recently hosted delegates from ambitious cities and regions who were equally keen to learn from them on energy and engagement. In a plain, glass-walled conference room, a dozen people watch politely but attentively as the speaker explains detailed PowerPoint slides, describing his city’s actions in a modest, ordinary tone – even though the content is, for [...]

40 ambitious cities speeding to climate neutrality on Europe-wide peer-learning programme

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-12-01T14:13:39+01:00December 1st, 2025|

PRESS RELEASE Over the next 12 months, 40 cities from 24 countries will work together on local climate action, joining a unique programme offered under the EU Cities Mission. Twenty-two new cities will bring the total number engaged through peer-learning programmes in the mission to more than 200. The Twinning Learning Programme is facilitated by NetZeroCities, which manages the EU Cities Mission platform, and will welcome the following cities as ‘Twin cities’ in the fourth cohort of the programme from 1 December 2025: Twin cities Paired with Mission cities Baerum (Norway) Reykjavik (Iceland) Cambridge (United Kingdom) 2nd district of Bucharest (Romania) [...]

Pre-feasibility study for the energy community project of the city of Liepaja

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-12-22T17:25:39+01:00November 28th, 2025|

Deadline: 13 January 2026 Please note that a list of questions and answers are published at the bottom of the request for proposals in the document below. Background In scope of the implementation of its Climate City Contract, Liepaja is taking a significant step towards energy independence, economic sustainability, and climate neutrality by 2030 with the establishment of its first energy community. Liepaja is in the early stages of developing a pioneering Energy Community aimed at enhancing energy independence, integrating renewable energy (solar), and deploying battery storage to optimize grid reliability and support vulnerable users. The project is further aiming [...]

GUEST BLOG: Pedal Power: the COP Bike Ride crossed 19 Mission Cities and delivered a strong message on cycling at COP30 in Belém

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-12-03T10:26:04+01:00November 27th, 2025|

When cities embrace bike-friendly design, they not only reduce emissions but encourage healthier communities, calmer streets and a culture of sustainability. Acting EU Cities Mission Board Chair Paulo Ferrão and board member Françoise Guaspare reflect on the significance of a citizen-driven initiative to promote the European Declaration on Cycling at COP30. Not all roads to COP30 in Belém, Brazil were created equal. This was especially true for hundreds of riders in the COP Bike Ride, a citizen initiative that carried ten proposals to leverage cycling for climate protection to November’s UN Climate Conference in Belém. The [...]

Mission Label awards: Over 100 cities reach climate neutrality milestone

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-10-17T14:08:13+02:00October 15th, 2025|

Eleven cities received the Mission Label at the European Week of Regions and Cities 2025 on 15 October in Brussels, demonstrating the growing momentum of urban climate action across Europe. The newly labelled cities are Munich (Germany), Angers Loire Metropole (France), Zagreb (Croatia), Rome (Italy), Differdange (Luxembourg), Amsterdam, Eindhoven & Helmond, Groningen, Rotterdam (Netherlands), and Bratislava (Slovakia). The EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities recognises the successful development of their Climate City Contract (CCC) – a strategic document co-created with citizens and local stakeholders, which includes core commitments and action and investment plans. They are developed with expert support from [...]

Support in the development of a local climate finance facility in Nantes Métropole

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-07-24T17:41:33+02:00July 24th, 2025|

Deadline: 29 August 2025 About the request The City Expert Support Facility (CESF), through NetZeroCities / Climate-KIC, are requesting proposals for supporting Nantes Métropole in the development of a local climate finance facility aimed at linking private and public funders with project developers in the field of carbon storage, biodiversity, reforestation, and more generally climate transition. The goal of Nantes Metropole is to create an innovative facility, inspired by La Rochelle's Coopérative carbone pioneering model, capable of creating a new financial ecosystem by linking private (and public) funders with climate project developers, particularly in the fields of carbon storage, biodiversity, [...]

Transition teams: Spotlight on the crews steering cities to climate neutrality

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-07-11T18:44:49+02:00July 11th, 2025|

Written by Lilybell Evergreen, Bhuvana Sekar, and Alan MacKenzie As cities across Europe pursue climate neutrality as part of the EU Cities Mission, their efforts to innovate, collaborate, and learn are being organised in very different ways. But what do these efforts have in common that other cities can learn from and replicate? Each of the Mission’s 112 cities has its own story – its own structures, goals, challenges, and opportunities – but another view of this diversity is offered by looking at the people closest to the cities and how they work with others to [...]

What Happens When Cities Talk? Lessons from the First Online Discussion Groups

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-07-10T13:32:31+02:00July 10th, 2025|

As Europe’s cities accelerate their climate ambitions, the need for structured, practical collaboration is becoming increasingly essential. In response, NetZeroCities launched the first Online Discussion Groups in autumn 2024, a peer-learning initiative open to all cities designed to help them move from climate planning to delivery. The initiative was specifically designed for cities that are not part of the 112 EU Mission Cities, but that share the same bold climate ambition and mission-driven mindset. These Mission-minded cities joined the Online Discussion groups to accelerate their transitions by learning from those already further along. Over the course [...]

Aarhus bets on co-creation and compromise for its green future

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-07-08T10:37:01+02:00July 7th, 2025|

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Aarhus is one of the 112 cities participating in the EU Mission to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities, and the Pilot Cities Programme – a component of the Mission that focuses on exploring and testing pathways to rapid decarbonisation over a two-year period. What happens when an entire area in a city becomes a test site for tackling climate change? In Spørring, a peri-urban community between the city and its rural surroundings, Aarhus municipality is rolling out new initiatives aimed at cutting emissions while using land more efficiently. [...]

Climate on a budget: funding the change across Europe

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-07-08T16:33:32+02:00July 7th, 2025|

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz Stories from Pilot Cities: Klagenfurt, Gozo and Vilnius are part of the 112 cities participating in the EU Mission to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities, and the Pilot Cities Programme – a component of the Mission that focuses on exploring and testing pathways to rapid decarbonisation over a two-year period. ‘How are we going to finance the transition?’ is the question echoing the corridors of town halls and policy meetings across Europe. Climate targets are set. Plans are drawn. But turning vision into reality often comes down to one of the key [...]

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