Newly released guide will help cities prepare to participate in the Mission Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities

CZELO

The Call for Expression of Interest will be opened in the second half of November.

The European Commission has released an Info Kit for Cities with comprehensive information about the Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”. Mission represents a new and innovative way to work together and improve the lives of people in Europe and beyond. They include a set of actions, such as research and innovation projects, policy measures and legislative initiatives, to achieve concrete goals with large societal impact and within a specified timeline.

The aim of the mission, which was officially launched on 29 September 2021, together with other ones, is to:

  1. Deliver at least 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030,
  2. Ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050.

The newly released Info Kit is composed of two parts:

Part I (“Understanding the Cities Mission”) is a practical guide to help cities prepare for the Call for Expression of Interest to participate in the Mission, which the Commission plans to address to cities in the second half of November. The Call for Expression of Interest will allow cities to state their interest in becoming climate-neutral by 2030 as part of the Mission and to submit information about their current situation, ongoing work and future plans as regards climate neutrality. Cities can already pre-register. Registration is possible at any time, before or after the Call will be opened and it will be necessary in order to access the questionnaire that cities will need to fill in to respond to the Call for Expression of Interest.

Part II (“A short guide to urban climate neutrality”) offers resources and strategies towards climate neutrality at city level. Part II is intended as guidance throughout the implementation of the Mission, and cities are not expected to have addressed the various aspects highlighted in this part of the document at the stage of expressing their interest.

In this context, a Frequently Asked Questions document was also published, which includes, among other things, answers to the questions asked by participants during the webinar “The Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission” of 1 October.

More information can be found at the EC website.