European cities to achieve climate neutrality

April 28, 2022. Amsterdam, Netherlands – The European Commission has selected 100 European cities (plus 12 additional cities coming from H2020 associated countries) to join its Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. The cities selected for this Mission will receive comprehensive support from the  Net Zero Cities  program led by EIT Climate-KIC and work on reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and achieving climate neutrality.

Home to 75 per cent of Europeans and responsible for more than 70 per cent of global CO2 emissions, cities can lead the European Union’s pathway to a zero-carbon world. The main goal of the NetZeroCities program is to engage local authorities and other stakeholders to deliver over 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, and to ensure that these cities serve as test-beds for innovation to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050.

“This Mission represents the most aggressive and ambitious effort among cities to lead the way in responding to the global climate emergency. Europe is seeking to do its part and invest in learning how to achieve climate neutrality quickly and to share what we learn across all of Europe and the world. Reaching climate neutrality will be difficult for any municipalities, and our job is to help them on that journey, especially with innovation and learning that touch every aspect of a city,”  said Thomas Osdoba, Director of NetZeroCities.

A total of 377 cities applied to be part of the Mission and work with NetZeroCities to overcome the current structural, institutional and cultural barriers they face in order to achieve net-zero by 2030. The European Commission selected 100 EU cities coming from all 27 Member States, as well as 12 additional cities coming from countries associated or with the potential of being associated to Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation program. (2021-2027).

The Cities Mission will receive €360 million of Horizon Europe funding covering the period 2022-23, to start the innovation paths towards climate neutrality by 2030. The research and innovation actions will address clean mobility, energy efficiency and green urban planning, and offer the possibility to share best practices to build joint initiatives and extend collaborations with other EU program.