Ella Morgan, Author at NetZeroCities

From neighbours to networks – how communities fund their own future

Ella Morgan2026-01-12T10:56:58+01:00January 12th, 2026|

Imagine an island powered entirely by its residents, a grocery store fighting food waste while building a community, or a network of affordable homes shielded from market speculation. These aren’t utopian dreams – they're real examples in communities taking control of their own resources and rewriting the rules of local finance. NetZeroCities partners DemSoc take a closer look. Across Europe, community-owned enterprises are showing that collective action can fund sustainable, inclusive, and resilient local economies in ways traditional markets often cannot. Unlike conventional businesses, these initiatives are owned and run by the very communities they serve, ensuring that value circulates locally. They take many forms – such as housing cooperatives, mobility initiatives, [...]

Where Europe’s climate transition is taking shape: lessons from 52 cities

Ella Morgan2025-12-12T17:18:13+01:00December 12th, 2025|

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz Across Europe, a quiet shift has been taking place. In 52 cities, local governments, residents, community groups and businesses spent two years testing new ways to cut emissions and new financing models and how to turn abstract climate ambition into a lived, local systemic transformation. Now, their achievements show what reaching climate neutrality can mean in practice. Their collective effort has produced tangible results. More than 184,000 citizens took part in pilot activities. Cities trained over 1,400 public officers, created 256 new jobs, launched 40 follow-up projects and recorded an estimated reduction [...]

How Bratislava Is Turning Business into a Partner for Change

Ella Morgan2025-12-09T12:08:36+01:00December 8th, 2025|

Author: Barabara Jarkiewicz Bratislava is redefining how cities and businesses can work together to tackle climate change. Through the Bratislava Mayor’s Climate Challenge, the Slovak capital is showing that real progress on emissions requires shared responsibility, trust and transparency. “The city has a direct influence on only about 11% of emissions in Bratislava,” says Marián Zachar, project manager of the Bratislava Mayor’s Climate Challenge. “Companies, residents and private transport are responsible for about a third of the rest. The city wants to lead by example through its own investments and policies, but at the same [...]

‘Trying to talk to the emotions’: Engaging citizens on local climate action needs both head and heart

Ella Morgan2025-12-05T11:38:43+01:00December 4th, 2025|

Written by Alan MacKenzie Cities can’t reach climate neutrality without help – not only do they need the consent of locals for ambitious plans, but they need their ideas too. Grenoble-Alpes Métropole in France is treating the challenge seriously and recently told other cities how they are making collaboration meaningful with their citizens. “We know that it's not only talking to the brain that provokes change, so we also try to change our way of acting and trying to talk to the emotions also,” says Ylva Brasjo from Grenoble-Alpes Métropole’s climate team. [...]

‘We were lucky’: Twin City interview with Lund

Ella Morgan2025-12-04T08:35:06+01:00December 4th, 2025|

The Swedish city of Lund has a unique perspective in the EU Cities Mission – how has it shaped its climate activities and learning? In a recent interview, Tommy Bengtsson and Juliet Leonette from the city’s climate team explain. Of the many valuable opportunities available through the EU Cities Mission Cities, the chance to learn from peers in other cities is unique. Over 180 cities have already participated in peer-learning programmes through the Mission, collaborating not only with near neighbours but across more distant European borders too. Lund, a mid-sized city on the southern tip of [...]

Helsingborg’s Bold Experiment to Build a Climate-Neutral Future

Ella Morgan2025-12-11T11:58:55+01:00November 26th, 2025|

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz Stories from Pilot Cities: Helsingborg 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. Helsingborg is taking on one of the toughest climate challenges in Europe by cutting emissions from the construction sector. The Swedish coastal city is transforming its Oceanhamnen district into a living laboratory where new ways of designing, building and managing materials are tested in real [...]

Climate-Neutral Cities in Albania: Cross-country collaboration via a national platform?

Ella Morgan2025-11-21T08:29:59+01:00November 21st, 2025|

What happens when you bring together Albanian municipalities, a Mission City, national institutions, academia, and NetZeroCities representatives? A great co-creation process begins! Natalia Lewandowska from ICLEI Europe writes that the stage is now set for establishing an Albanian national platform to accelerate climate neutrality. Albania’s path toward EU accession has placed sustainability, climate action, and urban development high on the national agenda. As the country aligns its policies with the European Green Deal and the EU’s climate objectives, cities have a central role to play in driving this transformation – but mobility remains one of Albania’s [...]

Zagreb’s Model for Sustainable Urban Transformation

Ella Morgan2025-11-19T09:44:04+01:00November 19th, 2025|

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz Stories from Pilot Cities: Zagreb 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 heart of Croatia, Zagreb is showing how the path to climate neutrality can begin in the most unexpected places. By embedding climate goals into every layer of governance, transforming their financial approach and transforming neglected courtyards into vibrant green hubs, the Croatian capital [...]

City Finance Specialised Services Tender (Panel Arrangement)

Ella Morgan2025-12-10T16:51:06+01:00November 14th, 2025|

Deadline: 12 January 2026 Please note that the deadline for submitting bids has changed and a list of questions and answers are published at the bottom of the RFP in the downloaded PDF file. Background As part of the comprehensive support envisioned by NetZeroCities as the Cities Mission platform, direct capacity support and capability building delivered by City Finance Specialised Services (CFSS) roles has been included in direct response to stated priority needs by Mission Cities. The CFS role is being provided in a combination of ways, and this procurement scope addresses one of those ways. Direct sub-contracting of CFS [...]

Oslo’s PURE Project: Building Climate Neutrality from the Ground Up

Ella Morgan2025-11-17T10:07:56+01:00November 13th, 2025|

Author: Ayden Maher Stories from Pilot Cities: Oslo 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. From Climate budgets to Construction yards Oslo has earned its reputation as one of Europe’s climate leaders. The city was the first in the world to introduce a climate budget, a governance system that ties emissions targets directly to financial planning. That model has since [...]

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