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The French-Irish infrastructure will transfer sustainable nuclear and wind energy between the two countries, strengthening their energy independence
Do you think your city has what it takes?
City officials believe that financial conditions will deteriorate in the coming winter months
The Latvian capital joins a growing rank of European cities that have turned to taxing the visitors’ impact
The EDMO hubs work to connect fact-checkers, academia and the media, as well as boost local media literacy
Ireland is currently going through a major rental housing crisis
The Estonian city is preparing for its upcoming European Green Capital year in style
The birds will be specially trained to scare off pigeons from their favourite places in the city’s parks
The system uses a simple tri-colour traffic light code to let commuters know the best place to enter a train
The smart devices also let drivers with reduced mobility know where the nearest free spot is located
Plants feed on CO2 and plenty of it is produced at the local Tekniska verken energy company, so there’s a circular win-win solution
The city’s Second District opted for sustainable Christmas decoration this year
The city marked the 250th e-taxi license, issued by local traffic authorities
The city will limit the number of these two-wheelers in the centre to 500, in order to push companies to service residential areas as well
The system uses a simple tri-colour traffic light code to let commuters know the best place to enter a train
The smart devices also let drivers with reduced mobility know where the nearest free spot is located
City officials believe that financial conditions will deteriorate in the coming winter months
Some shops have stayed open for more than six generations of the same family and trace their origins to the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Faux or fact? Now, it’s up to you to shine the light on the truth
Local authorities want to monitor the situation and keep a healthy housing balance
Ireland is currently going through a major rental housing crisis
It will aid them in collecting data about the incidents that can be used in court
The cities were selected by the EU Commission and with its support, they should become trailblazers in the EU’s push for net-zero by 2050
Today, the EU Commission announced the 100 cities that will take part in the bloc’s Mission for climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. The aim of the Missions, as an EU policy tool, is to support the goals of Horizon Europe with tangible and smaller-scale initiatives that target specific issues.
In this case, climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 mission opts to create role model urban centres, that can support a thriving green innovations eco-system. The Commission aims to stimulate the links between local authorities, national authorities, EU institutions, the academic community and citizens.
Back in January, they launched the first call for applications, and after an overwhelming 377 candidacies, the commission settled on 100 cities. The cities are from across all 27 Member States, and also include some entries from the EU’s associate countries, like Montenegro, Israel, Albania and etc. They also include 12 European capitals like Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Madrid, Lisbon and Sofia.
A map of the EU cities that will aim for climate neutrality by 2030,
Source: European Commission
According to EU Commission data, currently, 75% of the bloc’s inhabitants live in cities. On a global scale, cities take up only 4% of the earth’s landmass but consume 65% of the total energy production while producing 70% of global CO2 emissions.
This is why targeting cities in the fight against climate change can have a major impact on delivering sustainability goals. And the Commission wants to use these flagship cities as a role models for the rest as climate deadlines are getting closer by the day.
According to the Green Deal, nations have to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030. In practice, this means cleaner air, less congestion, better public transport and less noise.
The goal of the mission is quite simple – to have 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030. At the same time, they should act as experimentation and innovation hubs, that can drive others towards the goal by 2050. After they get into the programme, they will be able to receive tailor-made advice and assistance from NetZeroCities and unlock additional funding.
The 100 cities will also now develop something the Commission calls Climate City Contracts. These will map out local authorities' strategies to reduce emissions across all sectors like energy, construction, waste management and transport, along with investment plans.
The development process of climate contracts is supposed to involve citizens, authorities, research organisations and the private sector. At the same time, cities that stride forward towards net zero emissions should become more attractive places for investment, due to their innovations and increased visibility.
The President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen explained that, despite the green transition making its way across the continent, there is always a need for trailblazers that strive for more.
The local authorities are taking the bold step as a way to declutter the urban streets from delivery traffic
One-third of homes on the islands this year were sold to nationals of other countries, many of whom are non-residents
This was one of the more creative and unusual ideas set to take shape as a result of the second participatory budget initiative in the city
Users can now get an overview of the state of the output in the country and receive a warning to reduce consumption and avoid power cuts
The city will launch an urban walk with a digital visual guide
The system uses a simple tri-colour traffic light code to let commuters know the best place to enter a train
The city inaugurated twelve of these spots to encourage people to still feel at home while on the street
The Danish capital was recognized for its citizen-centric approach to urban planning
The pioneering green move would make the country the first in Europe to do so
The city inaugurated twelve of these spots to encourage people to still feel at home while on the street
This was one of the more creative and unusual ideas set to take shape as a result of the second participatory budget initiative in the city
The city will launch an urban walk with a digital visual guide
This initiative seeks to integrate the values of the New European Bauhaus into the European Commission’s 100 Cities Mission
These will be spread across 11 EU countries and will serve to support the EU Missions
The European Commission has accepted to develop the idea
Veni Markovski’s take on dealing with disinformation in the European Union's poorest country – Bulgaria
A conversation with the mayor of Utrecht on the occasion of her mission to COP27
A conversation with the President of the European Committee of the Regions, about energy, climate change and the underrated importance of cohesion policy
