Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Guimarães 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.  "You cannot say Guimarães without a smile. To do this work you need to smile, and you need to have passion. That's the secret ingredient," says Dalila Sepúlveda, the city’s environment and sustainability director. This sentiment encapsulates the spirit driving Guimarães' innovative approach to climate [...]

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz Stories from Pilot Cities: the Slovenian cities of Ljubljana, Kranj and Velenje 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. Ljubljana, Kranj and Velenje are gearing up to pave the way to climate neutrality through innovative, systemic approaches. The three ambitious Slovenian cities have partnered under the Pilot Cities Programme to develop and test new solutions to their [...]

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Galway is a participant in the Pilot Cities Programme, an EU grant funded programme which focuses on exploring and testing pathways to rapid decarbonisation over a two-year period.   “The climate neutrality targets of 2030 and 2050 are closing in on us,” says Sharon Carroll, as she reflects on the formidable challenge ahead. “The level of action that’s needed is almost a barrier in itself because it can be so overwhelming,” says Carroll. Galway, where Carroll is the Project Coordinator for the Irish city’s participation in the NetZeroCities Pilot [...]

Author: Barbara Jarkiewicz Stories from Pilot Cities: Istanbul 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. The last major earthquake in Turkey was nearly eight magnitude, causing massive damage to millions of buildings and resulting in thousands of lives lost. The country suffers regular smaller tremors too and therefore the historic city of Istanbul, the country’s largest city, faces a dual [...]

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Budapest 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. As a European crossroads of culture and a historical intersection of power, Budapest’s streets, food, ruin bars, historical monuments, castles, bridges and spas tell the story of Roman, Ottoman Turkish, Slavic, Jewish and Viennese influence. They have left their stamp on the city, the ‘Pearl [...]

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Bristol 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. “Who is going to pay for this?” The estimated cost of Bristol’s decarbonisation is around £8 billion. Therefore, to Bristol City Council, it is clear that finding the money is imperative. Situated in the southwest of England, the city is taking bold steps towards answering [...]

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Mannheim 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 1817, Baron Karl von Drais raced through the streets of Mannheim on a wooden frame with wheels, a world-first that he called a ‘Laufmaschine’ or 'running machine', in English, but better known to us now as the bicycle. In 1885, the city saw the [...]

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Nantes 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. The French city of Nantes, famed for being the birthplace of surrealism and home to writer Jules Verne, is becoming a visionary urban centre, placing community at the heart of sustainability. The city and its surroundings, known as ‘Nantes Métropole’, has adopted a renewed approach [...]

Author: Elisa Abrantes Stories from Pilot Cities: Turku 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. There aren’t many cities that can confidently make the claim they’ll reach climate neutrality by 2029. On the southwest coast of Finland, the city of Turku can, and is on track to do so, reaching net-zero on the year marking the city’s 800th birthday. Turku [...]