Cities as a Test Bed for Climate Neutrality: €32 million in Support for EU Cities Mission Pilot Cities
NetZeroCities is launching a groundbreaking programme that tests new
approaches to reaching climate neutrality goals across cities in Europe.
This Pilot Cities Programme is part of the EU Mission for 100
climate-neutral and smart cities (“EU Cities Mission”), providing €32 million in grants and hands-on support to cities. The call is inviting applications until 4th of
November 2022 from all cities that are committing to the objectives of the
EU Cities Mission and are located in EU Member States and Associated
Countries.
The Pilot Cities Programme will help cities as they test out locally
tailored actions towards a climate transition. Selected cities will be
provided with grants funded under Horizon 2020, the European Commission's
2014-2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (R&I). Cities
will receive such support in the amounts of € 0.5 million, € 1 million, or
€ 1.5 million in order to deploy and scale up R&I and systemic
solutions.
NetZeroCities will also provide expertise and support services to the
selected Pilot Cities and help them as they take an inclusive, systems-wide
approach to climate neutrality. Cities’ piloting activities will be
diverse; consisting of social, cultural, technological, nature-based,
regulatory, and financial innovations, as well as new approaches to business
and governance.
Applicants’ proposed activities will be considered, as well as how they
interact with the various urban systems relevant to that city, including:
mobility, energy systems and built environment, material and resource
flows, health and well-being, natural areas, cultural, social, financial
and institutional systems, and accessible public spaces. Further details
regarding eligibility are available in the Call Guidelines.
These piloting activities will turn cities into test beds for climate
neutrality, leading the way for other communities to take action.
Collective learning will be a central part of the Pilot Cities Programme,
which will promote exchange among the cities at every step of the process.
From there, the solutions will be shared even more broadly, as part of a
twinning programme that will link each Pilot City with two to three other
cities across Europe. To scale up these initial actions, the NetZeroCities Platform
will also provide support in securing funding and financing for further
implementation or replication.
NetZeroCities is managed by 33 partners from 27 European countries,
including ICLEI Europe. The project supports the 112 European cities , among them 44 ICLEI Members in drastically
reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality.
NetZeroCities supports the European Green Deal in building a low-carbon, climate-resilient future through research
and innovation.
Roman Mendle, Coordinator for Smart Cities, Circular Economy
and Climate Neutrality at ICLEI Europe, working on NetZeroCities highlights
the importance of the programme to local governments: "The pilot
program under NetZeroCities is a key contribution and support offer to
cities across Europe to lay the foundations and kick-start the local
implementation of their ambitious climate neutrality targets by 2030. More
importantly, those cities receiving pilot funding will serve as know-how
and experience generators for all cities across Europe and the mission, and
will pass on their knowledge gained via the NetZeroCities twinning and
replication processes. The NetZeroCities consortium hopes to receive many
high quality applications for the available funding that demonstrate how
the received support maximises impact on mission implementation, locally
and across Europe."
More information is available in the Call Guidelines and Guidebook.
About ICLEI Europe
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network of more than 2,500 local and regional
governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in 125
countries, we influence sustainability policy and drive local action for
low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development. ICLEI Europe provides
members in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and West Asia with a voice
on European and international stages, a platform to connect with peers, and
tools to drive positive environmental, economic and social change. ICLEI
Europe works closely with an extended network of local and regional
governments and partners on a broad range of topics.
About the Mission and NetZeroCities
Cities were invited to express
their interest to become part of the Mission in November 2021. This was
followed by expert evaluation of each expression of interest. As a second
step, the Commission applied additional criteria to ensure a diversity
among the cities. The 100 EU Cities chosen today represent 12% of the EU
population. The Commission launched the Mission for 100 climate-neutral and
smart cities by 2030 in September 2021. NetZeroCities will support the
Mission as a service platform supported by world-class practitioners. It
will help European cities by providing them with the support and solutions
they need to achieve their Net Zero goal in a socially inclusive way.
Press contact:
Nea Pakarinen
Senior Officer Media & Outreach
ICLEI European Secretariat
Nea.pakarinen@iclei.org
