Author: Alan MacKenzie The EU Cities Mission aims to make over 100 cities both climate-neutral and smart by 2030 – but what is a “smart city” and how does it help its climate goals? On Sweden’s southwest coast, the city of Helsingborg sees itself “as an enabler of innovation, rather than the innovators ourselves,” says Åsa Bjering, the programme manager for the city’s department of ‘Innovation and Green Transformation’. The distinction is important. A 2020 European Capital of Innovation Awards finalist, Helsingborg is well known for its forward thinking, and Bjering’s department brings together [...]

Envisaging New Connections NetZeroCities supports cities as they commit to ambitious action to get to climate neutrality. In supporting cities to develop and enact ambitious climate action plans, the EU Cities Mission aims to stimulate new ways of working and connecting, across sectors and institutions. The Climate City Contract (CCC) model helps cities to engage with stakeholders and make systemic change possible – and the NetZeroCities Portal helps cities to put that model into action. With Mission Cities committed to engaging in the CCC process that incorporates many other aspects of their existing climate planning and reporting, we see a significant [...]

The fourth EU Cities Mission Journey newsletter has been published and is available here. This fourth edition focuses on the Mission in Progress: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Conference 2023, the Call for Twin Cities, the first edition of the Summer School that took place in Milan and the different activities taking place in Mission Cities. The newsletter also showcases NetZeroCities resources, such as the Companion Guide for Civic Environment Mapping and the Transition Team Playbook, and provides an overview of recent events NetZeroCities participated in, as well as a list of upcoming events of interest. If you want to keep up [...]