Finally, the 23 cities that are joining Viable Cities and four government agencies to promote climate-neutral and sustainable cities have been announced.
In addition to the previous 9 cities, we will be reinforced by another 14 cities. These cities together have 40% of Sweden's population.
- "This is a huge step forward for the climate transition in Sweden," says Olga Kordas, Program Manager Viable Cities.
Wave 1 cities (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.
On October 1, the second phase of Viable Cities' Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative will start, with 23 Swedish cities working together to jointly find solutions to the enormous societal challenges posed by global warming.
- "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.
The initiative is Sweden's largest to date on climate change in cities, with a total budget of over SEK 200 million. Olga Kordas, Head of the Viable Cities program, emphasizes that the shift in gear means a lot for the work ahead.
- Many of these cities have already made impressive progress on climate change. Now we need to find new ways of working so that existing solutions can be implemented quickly and by more people. We don't have time to talk anymore - we have to do, do, do," she says.
Umeå municipality is one of the nine cities that have been involved in the initiative since its launch in 2019. Hans Lindberg, member of the municipal board Chairman (S) in Umeå:
- It feels fantastic that many more of us are now promoting climate transition of cities in Sweden. It not only gives even more power to our common work for change. It also means more cities to learn from and share our experiences with," says Hans Lindberg.
To keep up the pace, all cities will be invited to participate in a co-creation process in the fall. Among other things, they will participate in the process of working with Viable Cities Climate City Contract 2030 - a unique tool that concretizes what cities and government agencies commit to and implement to accelerate the climate transition.
Already on December 8, on 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.
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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.
