23 Swedish cities - representing 40% of Sweden's population - are now working together to accelerate the transition to climate-neutral and sustainable cities. Today, the top political leadership of all cities gathered for the launch of Phase 2 of the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative.
Stopping global warming requires drastic changes in society. The solutions that reduce climate emissions already exist, what is needed now is for everyone in society - public organisations, private companies, non-profit organizations and ordinary people - to work and behave in new ways to use these solutions. This is what the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative aims to achieve - bringing together different stakeholders and facilitating the sharing of knowledge and experience.
- "We don't have time to reinvent the wheel, we need to find new ways of working at all levels of society," says Olga Kordas, Program Director of Viable Cities and Associate Professor of Sustainable Urban Development at KTH.
Over the next few years, the 23 municipalities will now work at full speed with four government agencies - Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth - and Viable Cities to find new, effective ways to achieve the goal: cities that are good for the planet, the people who live in them and everyone who works in them.
- "The transition work that we are doing together in Viable Cities is incredibly important, and has ripple effects both here in Sweden and in the EU. It is therefore very gratifying to be able to welcome another 14 cities that, together with the previous nine, are paving the way for the sustainable cities of the future," says Robert Andrén, Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency.
All 2030 cities, both existing and new ones, have very ambitious climate targets. During the event on 28 October, participants from the cities and representatives from the authorities were able to highlight what they can contribute to the joint work going forward.
At the same time, the Viable Cities Climate City Contract 2030 process is ongoing - a unique tool that concretizes what cities and government agencies cities are committing to and implementing to accelerate the climate transition. On December 8, European Viable Cities Day, all cities will sign either a revised Climate City Contract 2030, or - for Wave 2 cities - a letter of intent in preparation for signing the contract next year.
Cities in wave 1 (included since phase 1)
Enköping, Järfälla, Gothenburg, Lund, Malmö, Stockholm, Umeå, Uppsala, Växjö
Cities in wave 2
Borlänge, Borås, Eskilstuna, Gävle, Helsingborg, Kalmar, Karlstad, Kristianstad, Linköping, Mariestad, Nacka, Skellefteå, Örebro, Östersund.
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Participants of the Kick-off event - Climate Neutral Cities 2030 2.0
Viable Cities
Viable Cities is a strategic innovation program focused on climate neutral and sustainable cities. Through the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative and the Climate City Contract 2030 tool, the program works with 23 cities and four government agencies to accelerate the climate transition. The programme has over 100 member organizations from business, academia, civil society and the public sector. Viable Cities is one of 17 strategic innovation programs supported in a joint initiative by Vinnova, the Swedish Energy Agency and Formas. The purpose of the initiative is to contribute to Sweden's international competitiveness and to sustainable solutions to global societal challenges. Viable Cities, which is coordinated by KTH, runs until 2030.
Contact Viable Cities: Anna-Lena Ekenryd, anna-lena.ekenryd@viablecities.se, 0733-468 436
The Swedish Energy Agency's press function, press@energimyndigheten.se, 016-544 24 95
