Anne-Charlotte Costabadie, Author at NetZeroCities

European cities celebrate local climate successes in Vilnius – and take home the lessons to reach a climate-neutral future

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-06-11T14:12:33+02:00May 20th, 2025|

“Our slogan - the greenest city in the making - is not just a promise, but an honest acknowledgement that the journey is ongoing. We are not perfect, but we are determined.” Mayor Valdas Benkunskas may have been speaking for the city of Vilnius when he opened the EU Cities Mission Conference, but the sentiment will be shared far beyond the Lithuanian capital. Hundreds of cities across Europe also know this feeling – of embracing the vulnerability of ambition and accepting there will be wrong turns to any new destination. Dozens of these cities, either reaching [...]

Cities Mission Times: Celebrating European Cities’ Climate Ambitions and Successes

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-05-14T12:30:32+02:00May 14th, 2025|

At the recent Cities Mission Conference 2025, held in Vilnius from 6-8 May, attendees received the "Cities Mission Times," a newspaper dedicated to celebrating city successes and advancing climate action towards 2030. Packed with inspiring stories, interviews, and updates, it celebrates cities' collaboration, ambition, and progress on the road to climate neutrality. Inside, readers will discover local climate initiatives and citizen engagement stories, alongside features on finance, private sector action, smart cities, mobility, buildings and housing, energy, national coordination, and even the role of sport in the transition. Each section showcases how European cities are accelerating the journey to climate [...]

Coming Soon: Get Matched with a Mission City! New Cities Mission Twinning Learning Programme Call Opens in June

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-06-03T10:33:58+02:00May 7th, 2025|

Correction: The launch of the new Cities Mission Twinning Learning Programme has been moved to later in June, instead of 3 June as initially indicated. Ready to fast-track your climate neutrality journey? A new Cities Mission Twinning Learning Programme call is launching in June 2025, offering cities the chance to team up with leading Mission Cities like Eindhoven, Ioannina, Liberec, Padova, Reykjavik, Sofia, and Umeå. Facilitated by the Mission Platform, currently managed by NetZeroCities, this programme offers hands-on learning to support systemic transformation. This one-year learning opportunity will support cities in developing practical solutions, deepening knowledge, and accelerating systemic change, all [...]

European Commission awards the EU Mission Label to 39 new cities

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-06-18T16:26:40+02:00May 7th, 2025|

The EU Mission label was awarded to 39 new cities during the Mission Label Ceremony at the Cities Mission Conference 2025 in Vilnius. In total, 92 out of the 112 Mission Cities have now received the label. For more details, please see the European Commission’s press release below. PRESS RELEASE Today, 39 cities participating in the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities under Horizon Europe have been awarded the EU Mission Label. This recognition highlights their ambitious plans to reach climate neutrality by 2030 and is designed to help them unlock public and private funding to support this goal. Teresa [...]

Zeroing together: three lessons from the diverse NetZeroCities Community of Practice to boost climate neutrality in cities

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-04-25T17:09:15+02:00April 25th, 2025|

The path to climate neutrality is complex, but cities across Europe are not navigating it alone. Through the NetZeroCities Community of Practice (CoP), diverse stakeholders come together to share practical insights, explore real-world challenges, and co-develop innovative approaches to transformation. One of the most dynamic elements of the CoP has been its ongoing webinar series, which provides a space for open exchange between cities, climate neutrality practitioners, researchers, private organisations NGO’s and more! Each session highlights pioneering projects, tested strategies, and lessons learned from cities leading the way, alongside innovative solutions from experts who closely support cities in achieving their [...]

Systemic innovation in Umeå requires creative energy and a black belt in bureaucracy

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-05-21T09:47:14+02:00April 23rd, 2025|

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Umeå 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. In the northern Swedish city of Umeå, where dark winters stand in contrast with almost around-the-clock daytime in the summer months, the climate transition is well underway. But it needs to go faster. The city is ramping up the speed through the North Star project, [...]

‘We really wanted listeners to visualise the future’: Milan’s bold choice to tell the story of the city’s climate action

Anne-Charlotte Costabadie2025-04-11T11:13:07+02:00April 8th, 2025|

The city of Milan has taken an intriguing approach to telling a complex story – its new podcast looks at an innovative but complex tool for cities, told via key local voices and expert navigation in each episode. What are its hopes for taking this tricky approach to communicating their climate work? Rossana Torri, the local project manager for the Mission in Milan, gives NetZeroCities some excellent insight in this Q&A for our latest blog post. A Climate City Contract is an innovative tool for cities aspiring to reach climate neutrality but isn’t an obvious topic [...]

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