The money trail: how European cities are rewriting climate finance

2026-04-29T13:55:10+02:00April 29th, 2026|

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz Across the continent, cities know their climate plans far outstrip their budgets. Facilitated by NetZeroCities, many participating cities acknowledge that municipal coffers can typically cover only a fraction of what is needed to deliver climate neutrality, often closer to a fifth than to half once the full cost of transforming buildings, transport and energy systems is on the table.  That gap will not close through grants and city budgets alone. Cities understand that this demands new financial mechanisms and coalitions between public authorities, private investors, citizens and European institutions, and that is exactly what is starting to take shape. In the past two [...]

Lund climbs higher for a fresh take on multilevel governance

2026-04-27T13:15:00+02:00April 27th, 2026|

Author: Joanna Trimble The Swedish city of Lund is testing how high a city can soar by rethinking how it governs the climate transition. By pulling dozens of initiatives into a single portfolio, the city is charting a common path to accelerate the pace of change. Now, this city is set to forge an innovative and adaptive model for governance, pushing the boundaries on what people can achieve together and how to activate collective impact for the long term. Lund has made great strides towards decarbonisation, with emissions falling 45% compared to 2010. But the city needs to reach [...]

Specialist Support for the Polish Cities Community of Practice

2026-04-28T15:39:42+02:00April 27th, 2026|

Deadline: 19 May 2026 (23:59 CEST Time) Background NetZeroCities, through Special Grant Agreement 2 (SGA2) Task 1.6, ‘Sub-European Peer-to-Peer Collaboration’, is actively working to provide tailored support in various national contexts. The aim is to provide additional support to cities, foster communities of practice between cities in each country, i.e. to strengthen city-to-city collaboration spaces at national level and thus help to reinforce national support structures for climate neutral cities (national platforms). To achieve this, NZC has developed a country-specific support framework tailored to the unique characteristics and needs of each context. In practice, the subcontractor should deliver the following [...]

Porto’s civic spirit sparks a new, eco-urban identity

2026-04-23T08:03:33+02:00April 23rd, 2026|

Author: Joanna Trimble Porto’s ambitious pledge to reach climate neutrality by 2030 is on the cusp of a citywide effort: one that embraces its people power, the ancient city’s spirit of innovation and its tradition of reimagining itself for two thousand years of continuous urban life.   “Porto is a city where the past gives depth to the present, and where innovation is not a break with history, but a continuation of a long-standing ability to adapt, reinvent, and move forward,” says Catarina Araújo, Vice Mayor and City Councillor for Porto’s Urban Planning, Public Space, Environment and [...]

Seeking expertise to develop the prototypical concept design and implementation guidelines for Glasgow’s Community Renewable Energy Framework (CREF)

2026-04-21T11:09:13+02:00April 21st, 2026|

Deadline: 7 May 2026 (23:59 CEST Time) Background The City of Glasgow is implementing a Community Renewable Energy Framework (CREF), aimed at increasing the footprint of community-owned renewables in the city. The framework seeks to support communities as they implement community renewable energy projects from initial proposals to delivery, including consideration of persistent challenges that these projects encounter, such as finding suitable land, financing, connections, and navigating the planning process. Glasgow describes the Community Renewable Energy Framework as follows in the Climate City Contract: “This initiative aims to support increased generation of energy from renewable sources by identifying a portfolio [...]

Seeking expertise for organising National Mission Ecosystem events in Greece

2026-04-20T15:38:01+02:00April 20th, 2026|

Deadline: 12 May 2026 (23:59 CEST Time) Background NetZeroCities, through SGA2 Task 1.6, ‘Sub-European Peer-to-Peer Collaboration’, is actively working to provide tailored support in various national contexts. The aim is to provide additional support to cities, foster communities of practice between cities in each nation, i.e. to strengthen city-to-city collaboration spaces at national level and thus help to reinforce national ecosystems. To achieve this, NetZeroCities has developed a country-specific support framework tailored to the unique characteristics and needs of each context. In Greece, six cities are part of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, namely: Athens, Ioannina, Kalamata, Kozani, Trikala [...]

Copenhagen’s Heat Flexibility Drive for Carbon Positivity

2026-04-10T17:36:55+02:00April 10th, 2026|

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz In Europe, the green transition is often illustrated by solar panels on roofs, wind turbines on the horizon and cyclists on busy streets. Yet a huge share of urban energy still disappears into something far less visible: the heat that keeps homes, schools and offices warm. How and when that heat is produced, distributed and used can determine whether a city meets its climate targets.  Copenhagen has already taken significant strides on the visible aspects of its green transition. Wind turbines on the horizon, cyclists in every lane, district heating in most homes. With its Flexumers4Future project under the NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme, the city is now turning to [...]

Seeking expertise for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery and Decarbonisation Assessment for Alcumatic Foundry in Sønderborg

2026-04-27T10:38:24+02:00April 7th, 2026|

Deadline: 6 May 2026 (23:59 CEST Time) The proposal submission deadline has been extended and a list of Q&As is attached to the RFP document. Background In Sønderborg, Denmark, a growing interest in industrial decarbonization has led to the exploration of waste heat reuse among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). While many SMEs generate waste heat through various processes, these sources are typically small and fragmented. As a result, traditional assessments - focused on single processes - fail to present a conclusive business case for investment. There is a wish to change that by developing a holistic methodology that can [...]

Expert support for the design, assessment & cocreation of operational governance structures for Parma & Bologna’s climate alliances

2026-04-02T15:12:29+02:00April 3rd, 2026|

Deadline: 24 April 2026 (23:59 CEST Time) Background The Cities of Parma and Bologna are part of the Italian network of Mission Cities and have each developed their Climate City Contracts (CCCs) through large, collaborative coalitions involving universities, utilities, private-sector partners, civil-society organisations, research institutions, intermunicipal bodies, and the Emilia-Romagna Region. These alliances demonstrate strong political commitment and broad engagement, but they currently lack formal legal or institutional anchoring. As a consequence, they remain fragile, heavily dependent on voluntary participation, and exposed to political turnover, administrative restructuring, and fragmented mandates. Both cities are now entering a decisive moment: the shift [...]

Expert support to design, codevelop, and enable a Youth and Children CCC Outreach and Engagement Framework in Bergamo

2026-04-27T10:39:55+02:00April 1st, 2026|

Deadline: 4 May 2026 (23:59 CEST Time) The proposal submission deadline has been extended and a list of Q&As is attached to the RFP document. Background The City of Bergamo is working to strengthen both cultural and institutional engagement around its Climate City Contract (CCC), recognising that achieving climate neutrality requires a shared civic culture of responsibility and political accountability across generations. Young people are central to this effort: they are already influential within their families, schools, and communities, and must be supported not only to understand and adopt climate-positive behaviours, but also to contribute actively to shaping and monitoring [...]

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