Six Nordic cities, including five in Finland, are among 23 cities that have been awarded the EU Mission Label. The Label recognises the cities’ plans to achieve climate-neutrality already by 2030 and aims to facilitate access to public and private funding towards that objective. It is a part of the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, one of the EU Missions under Horizon Europe.
The 23 cities that received the label include five cities in Finland; Espoo, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Tampere and Turku, and one in Sweden, Malmö. Two Nordic cities, Sønderborg (Denmark) and Stockholm (Sweden) were already among the first ten cities that received the Label in October 2023.
Acknowledgement of climate neutrality
The EU Mission Label was awarded by Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth during a ceremony with mayors and city representatives. “The label is an acknowledgement of your hard work and commitment to making your cities climate neutral and better places to live,” the Commissioner said.
The EU Mission Label is an important milestone in the cities’ work. It acknowledges successful development of Climate City Contracts, which outline the cities’ overall vision for climate neutrality and contain an action plan as well as an investment strategy.
The Commission is expecting about 30 more Climate City Contracts to be submitted for review in April.
Background
Cities account for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions and consume over 65% of the world’s energy. Urban action is crucial for climate mitigation and can contribute significantly to accelerating the efforts to achieve the legally binding commitment to achieve climate-neutrality in the EU as a whole by 2050, as well as to the EU’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and more generally delivering the European Green Deal.
Climate action (Goal 13) and Sustainable Cities (Goal 11) are among the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development (Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs)
See also here.
