Transition teams: Spotlight on the crews steering cities to climate neutrality

2025-07-11T18:44:49+02:00July 11th, 2025|

Written by Lilybell Evergreen, Bhuvana Sekar, and Alan MacKenzie  As cities across Europe pursue climate neutrality as part of the EU Cities Mission, their efforts to innovate, collaborate, and learn are being organised in very different ways. But what do these efforts have in common that other cities can learn from and replicate?  Each of the Mission’s 112 cities has its own story – its own structures, goals, challenges, and opportunities – but another view of this diversity is offered by looking at the people closest to the cities and how they work with others to [...]

Aarhus bets on co-creation and compromise for its green future

2025-07-08T10:37:01+02:00July 7th, 2025|

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Aarhus 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. What happens when an entire area in a city becomes a test site for tackling climate change? In Spørring, a peri-urban community between the city and its rural surroundings, Aarhus municipality is rolling out new initiatives aimed at cutting emissions while using land more efficiently. [...]

Climate on a budget: funding the change across Europe

2025-07-08T16:33:32+02:00July 7th, 2025|

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz Stories from Pilot Cities: Klagenfurt, Gozo and Vilnius are part 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. ‘How are we going to finance the transition?’ is the question echoing the corridors of town halls and policy meetings across Europe. Climate targets are set. Plans are drawn. But turning vision into reality often comes down to one of the key [...]

Save the date: Torino to host Europe’s most ambitious cities for major climate neutrality conference in 2026

2025-07-08T13:54:08+02:00July 7th, 2025|

The city of Torino in northern Italy has been announced as the next host of the EU Cities Mission conference on 28-29 May 2026.  The programme is expected, however, to begin on 27 May with sessions outside of the main conference venue. More information will follow soon and we recommend that attendees await this before making travel plans.  Torino – one of 112 aiming to reach climate neutrality before 2030 – will welcome hundreds of counterparts across Europe, as well as representatives from European political and financial institutions, business, climate organisations and other experts.  This [...]

Seeking a City Finance Specialist to support capital and finance needs of specific Mission Cities

2025-07-04T09:36:11+02:00July 4th, 2025|

Deadline: 30 July 2025 About the request The City Expert Support Facility (CESF), through NetZeroCities / Climate-KIC, are requesting proposals for City Finance Specialised Services, dedicated to support capital and finance needs for specific Mission cities in the following geographic areas: Bulgaria : Sofia and Gabrovo Czech Republic : Liberec Estonia : Tartu Hungary : Budapest, Miskolc and Pecs Israel : Eilat Latvia : Riga and Liepāja Lithuania : Vilnius and Tauragė Slovakia : Bratislava and Košice In a practical sense, the City Finance Specialist (CFS) will be expected to work collaboratively with each city’s transition team and finance leadership to [...]

Accelerate Your City’s Climate Journey: New Peer Learning Opportunities

2025-07-07T17:34:00+02:00June 27th, 2025|

We’re excited to share three new online and in-person peer-learning opportunities! These opportunities are part of the EU Cities Mission, and are facilitated by the Mission Platform, currently managed by NetZeroCities. Twinning Learning Programme Online Discussion Groups (Cohort 2) Online Course: “Design your City’s Net Zero Strategy: Online Planning Lab” These peer-learning programmes are open to all cities from the EU and Horizon Europe  associated countries aiming for climate neutrality by 2050 or earlier, and that embrace the Cities Mission mindset. They have been designed for cities to share learnings, tackle challenges collaboratively, and benefit from the experience of over [...]

Expertise for the legal advisory for the design and launch of a municipal Energy Fund in Porto

2025-06-25T10:00:10+02:00June 25th, 2025|

Deadline: 14 July 2025 About the request The City Expert Support Facility (CESF), through NetZeroCities / Climate-KIC, are requesting proposals for legal advisory for the design and launch of a municipal Energy Fund in Porto aiming to improve energy efficiency and increase renewable energy production in residential dwellings and commercial spaces in the metropolitan area and mitigate energy poverty among vulnerable communities in the region. This fund will be technically managed by AdEPorto – Porto Energy Agency, in collaboration with Porto Municipality. AdEPorto is a non-profit association established in 2007, which promotes sustainable development in the northern part of the [...]

European cities invited to join forces with leading peers on climate neutrality programme

2025-06-25T08:14:11+02:00June 25th, 2025|

PRESS RELEASE A unique opportunity for cities to accelerate their local climate action and learn from leading cities in Europe is now open for applications, as part of the Twinning Learning Programme. The programme is part of the EU Cities Mission and is facilitated by the Mission Platform, currently managed by NetZeroCities. Cities with a commitment to reaching climate neutrality by or before 2050 can apply to join as ‘twin cities’ with cities Aachen, Bristol, 2nd district of Bucharest municipality, Dunkerque, Eindhoven-Helmond, Elbasan, Gabrovo, Guimarães, Ioannina, Kozani, Liberec, Padova, Reykjavik, Sarajevo, Sofia, Stockholm, Torino, Umeå and Warsaw, offering successful applicants access [...]

Warsaw seeks support for implementation concept of a Municipal Energy Agency

2025-07-09T14:32:40+02:00June 19th, 2025|

Deadline extended: 17 July 2025 Background The greenhouse gas inventory conducted in Warsaw every two years shows that nearly three quarters of Warsaw's greenhouse gas emissions come from the production and consumption of electricity and thermal energy in buildings. Therefore, actions concerning the energy sector are key to achieving climate goals. Since 2013, the City of Warsaw (responsible unit: Infrastructure Department) has been implementing a programme to monitor the management of electricity, heating, gas and water, and the cost of their consumption, together with the scoping of measures to improve the efficiency of energy use in more than 2,000 city [...]

Zaragoza seeks support for external and internal communications for the successful implementation of their City Climate Contract

2025-06-18T08:48:39+02:00June 18th, 2025|

Deadline: 8 July 2025 About the request The City Expert Support Facility (CESF), through NetZeroCities / Climate-KIC, are requesting proposals to support the City of Zaragoza in the preparation of an external Communication Strategy and supporting the improvement of internal communication activities between different departments of the city for the successful implementation of the City Climate Contract. Zaragoza has set ambitious objectives in its Climate City Contract (CCC). However, effective participatory communication approaches remain a challenge, both internally and externally. Limited engagement from citizens, key community actors and private entities presents a significant barrier to implementation. To overcome these challenges, [...]

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