Most cities do not struggle with a lack of ideas but with the conditions that make it hard for good ideas to thrive and succeed. Marjolein Heezen and Tess Tjokrodikromo from TNO Vector explain how recognising and naming these problems can help cities overcome them.  By Alan MacKenzie  Across multiple European cities working on complex innovation challenges, the same obstacles can be seen again and again, regardless of the city’s size, geography, or ambition.   These challenges do not usually appear as dramatic failures. Instead, they surface as slow progress, unfinished pilots, frustrated teams, or promising initiatives that never quite become ‘normal practice’.  And when teams can point to a challenge, rather than a person or project, deliberate action becomes possible.  [...]

The Swedish port city’s many departments and companies are led by a multi-year environment and climate programme until 2030, but close collaboration needs a shared journey, not only a common destination. With the help of NetZeroCities’ Capital Hub, steps towards green finance are opening up new conversations – even with existing partners.  By Alan MacKenzie  Michelle Coldrey from Gothenburg has been speaking to other Swedish cities about her city’s work with finance specialists from NetZeroCities.   “Why not? Give it a go,” she tells them.  Coldrey, who works on Gothenburg’s environment and climate programme, recognises that city staff can be hesitant about conversations that touch on finance, especially with external actors, if it isn’t their specific role or area of expertise.  Patience and perseverance, on all sides, is a must for understanding partners’ needs and what is possible.  “You have [...]

The city of Torino, alongside local partners, the European Commission and NetZeroCities, are making the final preparations before the EU Cities Mission conference in May. With a large programme, many site visits, and collaboration and networking opportunities planned, their hard work aims to let guest cities focus entirely on their climate priorities.  Torino’s path to climate neutrality is “collective and open,” while the city wants to be “an example at the European level,” says its mayor, Stefano Lo Russo.  In less than a month, Torino will play precisely that role as hundreds of guests representing dozens of cities will arrive under for the EU Cities Mission’s annual conference and two and a half days of collaboration and exploration, supported by NetZeroCities’ experts.  Torino [...]

Climate-friendly construction could be less costly than first thought, according to a new report, with some measures adding little or no cost.  Mission cities are learning from Oslo how this could be encouraged through public procurement. Sofi Halling, a senior adviser at Oslo Climate Agency, explains.  The construction sector is an “often overlooked” source of cities’ greenhouse gas emissions, but the good news is that cutting emissions in this sector might be less costly than anticipated, according to a report by SINTEF, a Norwegian research institute for sustainable development.  “This report shows that smarter design, the right choice of materials and increased re-use of material can cut emissions faster than many think,” says Audun Garberg, acting [...]

Collaboration promises to pool resources and spread expertise – but first everyone has to be put in the same room. The EU Cities Mission is doing just that and bringing cities, national governments and other important sectors together in a regular and shared forum. Ahead of recent municipal elections, it was the turn of the French ‘ecosystem’ to meet on key topics of finance and governance. By Marion Gonzales Offering collaborative spaces to tackle shared challenges is one of the key value propositions of the EU Cities Mission – and financing climate action is a hot [...]

Prague, Marmaris, and Valongo are separated by thousands of kilometres but have common sustainability and climate problems. To gain insight on energy projects, nature-based solutions, transport, and more, they met with counterparts in Bucharest District 2 to hear what the city is doing in these areas and – since no city has all the answers – to offer their own insights. By Alan MacKenzie  What’s the best route to a place no one has been before? It’s not a trick question, but one that ambitious cities are asking themselves every day. As they work to decarbonise and bring citizens and stakeholders with them, there will be as many [...]

Since opening its first roastery in Torino in 1895, the company founded by Luigi Lavazza has become a global coffee brand. Happily for the city, it has kept its roots there – and signed up to its climate neutrality plan. Lavazza’s director of global sustainability answered some questions for NetZeroCities about its own sustainability priorities.  By Alan MacKenzie  For any city’s progress and success on climate, the support of citizens and stakeholders, including private business, is non-negotiable. This support not only legitimises city plans but stakeholders will bring key insights and ideas for proper local transformation that will include their own emissions and relevant behaviours.   “Since the beginning of its journey toward climate neutrality, Torino has created a framework that allows all local stakeholders – private and public, profit and non-profit – to have [...]

Our societies aren’t short of information, but does everyone have the simple and trustworthy info they need to take action on climate and energy? To solve this in Bergamo, the city launched Energia in Comune, a helpdesk service where locals can get face-to-face guidance from experts. The helpdesk team tells us more on the NetZeroCities blog.  Citizens and businesses are often confronted with difficult questions: how to reduce energy consumption, which incentives apply, whether photovoltaic systems are feasible, or how to participate in energy communities. Without clear guidance, even the most motivated citizens can struggle to move forward.  Bergamo has already laid strong foundations for climate action through its Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (PAESC) and the Climate Transition Strategy Cli.c Bergamo. Yet, like many cities, it [...]

Working in networks is widely promoted in public policy, urban innovation, and climate action – but too often, they create more meetings than results and more expectations than impact. NetZeroCities partners at the Technical University of Madrid offer a method to rethink how to get the most from networks. In highly complex environments, real innovation is not about doing more, but about working together better. But why do networks – a necessity for urban transformation – sometimes fail? Building a network is not just about adding people or organisations or even making sure they talk to each other. It’s a [...]

Funding for cities is changing while their responsibilities are increasing – but to shape this change, cities must take part in the process now, says Natalia Lewandowska from NetZeroCities’ partners ICLEI Europe. Recent experience in Poland can show them how.  As the European Union moves closer to defining its next long-term budget one thing is becoming clear: the rules of the game are changing. For cities where climate action is implemented, tested, and scaled, the coming years will require not only new projects, but a fundamentally new mindset around funding.  Against this backdrop, a Better Funding Dialogue (BFD) in Poland offered a structured process to help cities, ministries, [...]