100 European cities meet in Brussels to launch the NetZeroCities programme

Monday 13 June, 2022 – BRUSSELS – The representatives of the 100 European cities selected to participate in the European Mission “100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030” met for the first time in real life today to kick off the cities journey towards climate neutrality under the NetZeroCities programme, led by EIT Climate-KIC.

377 cities from all 27 European Union countries applied to be part of the EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. The European Commission selected 100 EU cities, representing 12 per cent of the EU population, as well as an additional 12 cities from countries associated with Horizon Europe (2021-2027). The cities selected for this Mission will be fully supported by the NetZeroCities programme led by EIT Climate-KIC and will receive €360 million of Horizon Europe funding from 2022 to 2023, to embark on innovation pathways towards climate neutrality.

Frans Timmermans, Vice-President of the European Commission: “Cities are at the heart of our fight against the climate crisis. Greening open spaces, tackling air pollution, reducing energy consumption in buildings, advancing clean transport – there are so many ways cities are the hubs of innovation we need for this transition. We also need to ensure that this is a just transition. It will be just or there will be no transition. The Cities Mission is hugely important for the just transition and the European Green Deal because it will demonstrate that a fair transition to climate neutrality is possible.”

The programme will address clean mobility, energy efficiency and green urban planning. It also provides an opportunity to share best practices to build joint initiatives and expand collaboration with other EU programmes.

Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of EIT Climate-KIC: “The mission is not just about the ‘what’, but also the ‘how’. It’s about solid, thoughtful collaboration. It’s about bringing together departments, budgets, ministries, colleagues and those who don’t normally come together around the same table, bridge silos and sectors where combinations happen because people begin to see the possibilities. 2030 is a number that we have told ourselves matters and what matters about that number is not the actual number. What matters is that we try. And that in this space of possibility every ground we gain, every inch, every heart, every person who comes to the table with a different spirit to do something together is a triumph. Because the power of imagination, the power of collective effort and the power of learning from each other really gives us something that is a dynamic system of actions and that has power.”

The event featured a presentation of the NetZeroCities Climate City Contracts, which will be developed with local stakeholders and signed and implemented by each participating city. The Contracts include plans for the city to achieve climate neutrality, as well as an investment plan.

In the afternoon, attendees participated in workshop sessions addressing the role of city Advisors, the new mission platform, and the importance of monitoring and learning. Around 300 people attended the meeting in Brussels, including Konrad Fijołek, president of Rzeszowa (Poland), the Italian Minister of Sustainable Infrastructure and Mobility, Enrico Giovannini and the Mayor of Prato (Italy), Matteo Biffoni, and the Municipality of Ioannina (Greece). Another 350 participated in the event online.

Find the map about the selected cities here.

Learn more about the NetZeroCities programme.

Press contact

Anne-Sophie Garrigou
E: anne-sophie.garrigou@climate-kic.org

Background

EIT Climate-KIC

EIT Climate-KIC is the EU’s climate innovation initiative, working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon and resilient world by enabling systems transformation. Headquartered in Amsterdam, it operates from 13 hubs across Europe and is active in 39 countries.

EIT Climate-KIC was established in 2010 and is predominately funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. As a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), it brings together more than 400 partners from business, academia, the public and non-profit sectors to create networks of expertise, through which innovative products, services and systems are developed, brought to market and scaled-up for impact.

For more information visit: climate-kic.org

Follow EIT Climate-KIC on Twitter: @ClimateKIC