Commissioner Ivanova hands over the EU Mission Label to 20 cities

Today, during a ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, handed out the EU Mission Label to a new group of 20 cities for their efforts towards climate neutrality. 

The 20 cities that received the Label are: Aachen, Münster (Germany), Trikala (Greece), Miskolc (Hungary), Eilat (Israel), Bologna, Bergamo, Milan, Prato, Turin (Italy), Liepāja (Latvia), The Hague (the Netherlands), Porto (Portugal), Bucharest 2nd District, Suceava (Romania), Ljubljana, Kranj (Slovenia), Gothenburg, Gävle, Umeå (Sweden).

Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said:

“Congratulations to the 20 cities that have committed to becoming climate-neutral. You lead by example in making our cities more liveable and sustainable, and at the same time making Europe more competitive in the global cleantech race. The Commission will continue to support you in transforming your ambitious plans into concrete projects.”

The cities that have received the Label show commitment and creativity, having launched actions to accelerate their transition to climate neutrality, as for instance through sustainable urban planning, new mobility schemes, energy efficiency in the built environment as well as production and use of renewable energy sources, all of this in co-creation with their citizens and stakeholders.

The Label gives cities access to the Climate City Capital Hub, an international finance resource set up in June 2024. Its particular focus is on engagement with private capital. The Capital Hub offers a suite of tools to assist cities in navigating the complex landscape of funding and financing options for sustainable urban development. Cities also qualify for a lending envelope of €2 billion, put in place by the European Investment Bank. This brings the total number of cities in the Cities Mission with the Label to 53. Taken together, the plans they have put forward provide a powerful picture of cities’ combined needs for clean products and services, which will help the European cleantech industry gauge demand and plan production, whilst helping cities lower prices. In this way, the Cities Mission contributes to the EU’s competitiveness agenda and in particular to the planned Clean Industrial Deal.

The cities are testing innovative cross-sectoral approaches including for citizen engagement, stakeholder management and internal governance to accelerate their path to climate neutrality. They are also acting as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050. Collaboration, mutual learning, and exchange are essential for cities that want to become climate-neutral, offer cleaner air, safer transport and less congestion and noise to their citizens. The European Commission is expecting around 40 more Climate City Contracts to be submitted for review by end of this year.

Background

Cities account for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions and consume over 65% of the world's energy. The EU Cities Mission aims to help European cities become climate-neutral by 2030, offering cleaner air, safer transport and less congestion and noise to their citizens. The Mission also contributes more broadly to the EU goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and the upcoming Clean Industrial Deal announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

The EU Mission Label is an important milestone in the journey of the cities that are part of the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. It acknowledges the successful development of their Climate City Contracts (CCC), which outline the cities' overall vision for climate neutrality. Cities co-create their CCC with local stakeholders including the private sector and citizens.

The CCC is used as a roadmap to guide cities’ actions and investments, to continuously evaluate their strengths and gaps and to explore innovative solutions to reach climate objectives while leaving no one behind. The CCC is both a process and a living document with three interlinked components: Commitments, an Action Plan, and an Investment Plan.

The following cities have received a label in previous rounds: The first batch in October 2023: Sønderborg (Denmark), Mannheim (Germany), Madrid, Valencia, Valladolid, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Zaragoza (Spain), Klagenfurt (Austria), Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Stockholm (Sweden) and the second batch in March 2024 with Ioannina, Kalamata, Kozani, Thessaloniki (Greece), Heidelberg (Germany), Leuven (Belgium), Espoo, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Tampere, Turku (Finland), Barcelona, Seville (Spain), Pecs (Hungary), Malmö (Sweden), Guimaraes, Lisbon (Portugal), Florence, Parma (Italy), Marseille, Lyon (France), Limassol (Cyprus) and Izmir (Türkiye).

More information 

EU Mission: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities

Factsheet: Cities on a journey to climate neutrality