The EU Cities Mission aims to make cities in Europe and beyond climate neutral by 2030, but the path to this goal is complex. Urban transitions require more than just technological solutions – they demand a systemic approach that integrates technology, governance and social innovation. This is where research comes in. Morgan Cole Ricard, Emma Puerari (Polimi) and Ylva Reisnert (ERRIN) tell us more about how a recent NetZeroCities event underlined the importance of research institutions to climate action in cities.  Cities are at the forefront of tackling the climate crisis, and as we work towards [...]

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 [...]

In the French city of Marseille, six local businesses have received awards at a high-profile event for their exemplary achievements in climate change mitigation and adaptation, encouraging others to follow suit. The Climate Pioneers 2030 awards showcase local business’s climate work and were presented at a ceremony during the Climate Chance Europe Africa Summit. Nominees were selected in four climate change mitigation categories by city partners AtmoSud, the air quality observatory in the South Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, while partners GREC SUD, a group of climate experts in the region, identified nominees for an adaptation category. A [...]

Despite ambitious climate plans and real progress on the ground, European cities face a common challenge: effectively communicating their work to citizens. From poorly attended town halls to surveys showing limited public awareness, municipalities are eager to develop better ways to connect climate policies to people’s daily lives, demonstrate tangible benefits, and design more inclusive approaches that reflect community priorities.  Cities across Europe are leading the transition to climate neutrality, but to turn ambitious policies into real change, they must engage residents in meaningful ways, showing them how climate actions improve daily life and inviting them [...]

Meet NetZeroPlanner, our newest tool to support all cities on their climate-neutrality journey! Planning and implementing decarbonisation at city-scale may seem a daunting process, requiring constant monitoring and adaptation to stay on track to climate neutrality.    That’s why we have partnered with Kausal, to design NetZeroPlanner, a powerful data-driven decision-making tool that empowers city leaders to assess the impact of their Climate Action Plan, refine their roadmap and ensure they meet their GHG emission reduction goals.   Empowering your City to Plan, Prioritise, and Fund your Path to Net Zero  With NetZeroPlanner, cities can now monitor [...]

Berlin knows a thing or two about transformation – so where better for cities to discuss and collaborate on how they can deliver their ambitious climate plans at greater scale? With colleagues from Climate KIC, Nadim Choucair from Dark Matter Laboratories ran the meeting of 48 cities and writes here about the importance of their collaboration.  As a facilitator, one objective of any bootcamp is to subtract, take ourselves out of the equation, and give participants the space to connect and take advantage of their time together. In January in a city of constant transformation, the [...]

Activity across 112 Mission Cities is yielding new insights and data, supporting not only their own goals, but advancing the journey to climate neutrality for others to follow. Rohit Mondal and Sabrina Bresciani from Politecnico di Milano, NetZeroCities’ academic partners in Milan, write here about two scientific publications from the university that have analysed this information and how it can support cities to add important non-technical solutions to their climate toolkit.  All cities face the urgent need to reach climate neutrality and are gearing up to measure and learn from their climate actions by assessing their effectiveness [...]

For any city’s climate transition to be effective and sustainable, it will also have to be just – ready to support its poorest and most vulnerable citizens. In our first guest blog outside the NetZeroCities consortium, Vangelis Marinakis, an assistant professor at the National Technical University of Athens and president of DAEM, the city’s IT company, explains how Greece’s capital is doing so, from a one-stop-shop to counter energy poverty, to waiving municipal fees for energy-poor households.  Imagine a city where energy vulnerability is not just acknowledged but actively addressed, setting a new standard for equity [...]

Barcelona is well known as one of the world’s most liveable cities, but it hasn’t become one by accident. Lilybell Evergreen, from NetZeroCities’ partner Demos Helsinki, recently spent a week there through the EU Cities Mission project REALLOCATE and reflects here on the potential lessons on local climate action. It is rare to get the chance to spend so long soaking up a city and listening to the people who are trying to push for change within it. And certainly, in recent years, Barcelona has visibly and palpably changed. From a visit ten years ago, I [...]

Author: Thomas Haddock, NetZeroCities Head of Operations, Climate-KIC The bearings of our rear sprockets growl rhythmically as we ride across the Ligurian coast. The sunlight strikes the blue, azure ocean and reflects around us. We are riding on a new segregated cycling and walking path through the centre of the city of Imperia. We feel safe enough to freewheel, chat and take in our surroundings. Families are carelessly walking through the space and the chirps, barks and squeaks of children playing are clearly audible in this traffic free space. Enrique Peñalosa, the former Mayor of Bogotá, [...]