The goal of the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities mission is:
- to achieve 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030,
- ensure that these cities also serve as experimental and innovation centers that will enable all European cities to become climate neutral by 2050 .
Interest in the mission was great from the beginning, with more than 377 cities expressing interest in becoming a member. Two Slovak cities succeeded in this competition, Bratislava and Košice , which were the first for our region to be invited to cooperate with the knowledge base ( Community of Practice ) and mission platform in the preparation of climate contracts (Climate City Contracts) and investment plans to achieve climate neutrality.
Thanks to the mission, a community of ambitious cities was created (it currently consists of 100 cities from member states and 12 cities from countries associated with the Horizon Europe program). Supported by a dedicated mission platform , participating cities have access to an online portal that allows them to work in groups, share experiences and access a repository of knowledge to accelerate climate-neutral solutions. Currently, the portal has more than 1,400 active users.
The mission is inclusive and saw the participation of all EU member states and 8 associated countries. Member States are systematically involved through country visits and the CapaCITIES project , which supports national networks and interconnects them. The University of Žilina in Žilina is also actively participating in this project together with the Slovak Union of Cities .
All mission cities started to create their city climate contracts with the local community, citizens and with the support of specialized city advisors (City Advisors) .
The European Investment Bank EIB supports the mission’s actions, including targeted awareness raising in cities and contributes to the revision process of the City Climate Agreement. 53 pilot cities were selected and received grants (from 0.5 to 1.5 million EUR) to develop innovative solutions to address the challenges of climate change transformation. Another 50 cities will soon benefit from the work done in the pilot projects, based on the exchange of experience and advice with the pilot cities.
The renewal of cities is the main goal of the joint challenge , which was announced by both missions – the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities mission and the Climate Change Adaptation mission: HORIZON-MISS-2023-CLIMA-CITIES-01-01 Urban greening and re-naturing for urban regeneration, resilience and climate neutrality
The specialized call (HORIZON-MISS-2023-CIT-02-01: Associating Ukrainian cities to the Climate-neutral and smart cities Mission ) of the Horizon Europe program also enables Ukrainian cities to be associated with the mission. Synergies have been created with EU programs and initiatives, including the European Innovation Council (EIC), the Connecting Europe Facility, strategic integrated LIFE projects and urban innovation measures .
Many Member States or regions refer to the mission in their regional operational programs and specific financial streams have been designated at national level, for example in Greece and Spain. The mission also has a joint call in the Horizon Europe 2023-2024 work program with the Zero Emission Mobility (2Zero) and Connected, Cooperative and Automated Mobility (CCAM) partnerships with a combined budget of €50 million. The Urban Transitions Mission Center supports the mission’s international activities and is connected to the global Urban Transformation mission within the Innovation Mission.