Cities are taking decisive steps to accelerate the climate transition. As national and international climate policies falter, are dismantled, or are directly opposed, cities around the world—in Europe and Sweden—are stepping up. Olga Kordas, program director at Viable Cities, describes this trend in an interview with Dagens Industri and notes that it is in our local communities where hope for the future lives on.
The first nine years of the Viable Cities strategic innovation program have now been evaluated. The evaluation shows how the program has evolved into a key platform for climate transition in Swedish cities.
"Municipalities have direct control over only 7–20 percent of emissions, yet through procurement, planning, and land allocation, they can still steer development in the right direction," says "Minister of Urban Development" Olga Kordas in Aktuell Hållbarhet today.
Six government agencies forces with Viable Cities and "our" 48 cities to accelerate the climate transition. What does the agencies' work entail? Read the Swedish Transport Administration's progress report on our blog.
Ahead of the 2026 election, Aktuell Hållbarhet is launching the “Sunshine Government,” tasked with developing the climate measures Sweden needs. The magazine has appointed seven “ministers” who are deeply committed to sustainability issues and are leading experts in their fields. Olga Kordas of Viable Cities is one of them.
The government is presenting its spring budget without one of the most thoroughly studied and equitable policy tools for reducing emissions from the transportation sector—the mode-neutral travel deduction. This is a reform that the Riksdag has already approved, according to representatives from Viable Cities, the 2030 Secretariat, Shift Sweden, and others in an op-ed in Dagens Industri.
We’re celebrating our program director, Olga Kordas, who came in second on the list of the most influential figures in sustainability!
Cut emissions in half! Fossil-Free Sweden and Viable Cities are today joining forces to work together to ensure that public procurement drives demand for fossil-free and climate-neutral solutions in the construction and civil engineering sector. Even today, emissions from new construction can be cut in half.
Viable Cities has now published a new report that highlights how local energy systems can become a key building block in the climate-neutral cities of the future. The report, *EnergyNet and the Future of Local Energy Systems*, describes EnergyNet as a potential system architecture for a more robust, cost-effective, and flexible energy system.
Östersund Municipality is now very close to becoming a fossil fuel-free municipal organization. All passenger cars except one run on fossil-free fuel, heavy vehicles and work machines run on HVO, biogas or electricity, and all oil boilers have been replaced. You can read more about this in the status report.
Today, Viable Cities is launching a call for proposals that complements the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative, which currently involves 48 cities.
"It is through the power of many that we can truly elevate cities' ability to accelerate climate transition to the next level," says Olga Kordas, program manager for Viable Cities.
In the midst of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, an initiative that focuses on building capacity for recovery, resilience, and climate transition has emerged. Viable Cities, through our host organization KTH, has been coordinating the UniCities initiative together with Ukrainian and Spanish universities.
How is the climate transition progressing in Mariestad Municipality? In their status report on our blog, you can read about concrete steps to establish a new normal with sustainable choices.
Want to help save the world? The Viable Cities innovation program is on a mission to make the world climate neutral and sustainable. We're looking for interns who want to help develop communication in this area.
Vendela Karlsson is studying Visualization and Text Design at Mälardalen University in Eskilstuna. Here, Vendela talks about her experiences from her internship with Viable Cities' communications team at the end of 2025.
With the exhibition The Luleå Way, easily accessible in a gallery in the city center, the municipality and major industrial players are telling the story of the local transition journey. This is one of the initiatives for a climate-neutral and sustainable Luleå by 2025. Read more about the city's transition in the status report.
Wind power is a focus area in the climate transition in Kristinehamn Municipality. Thanks to early planning and political consensus, the municipality has enabled wind power development that has led to Kristinehamn now being a net producer of sustainable fossil-free electricity. You can read more about this and much more in the status report.
"Umeå is now stepping up its climate efforts in earnest. Through major investments, strong political leadership, and close cooperation across the entire municipal group, we are taking important steps toward a climate-neutral Umeå," says Mikael Brändström, Development Director, Umeå Municipality. You can read more about the mobilization in Umeå Municipality in their status report.
Linköping Municipality is working hard to get all local stakeholders on board with the climate transition journey. Mayor Mikael Sanfridson is proud: "The business community, civil society, the university, and our young people—everyone is involved." Read more about how Linköping is working on—and celebrating—its climate efforts in the status report.
"We are taking responsibility for climate change in Håbo. Through fossil-free procurement, a new climate and energy plan, and a transition team, we are showing that we mean business." So says Catherine Öhrqvist (M), Chairman the Municipal Council Chairman Håbo Municipality. In the status report, process leader Nina Aldén tells us more about the work being done on climate change.
"We are particularly proud that, at the end of 2024, we adopted our group-wide Climate Roadmap, which identifies eleven priority areas where we need to act together. The roadmap is our compass, and Climate Neutral Cities 2030 gives us the strength and support we need to put it into practice." This is what Peter Eriksson, Chairman of the Municipal Council in Trollhättan, has to say about climate transition work. Read more in the status report!
The climate transition in Karlskrona Municipality is being carried out in close collaboration with Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH). "With BTH's support, we are able to adopt a strategic and systematic approach that can inspire other cities to seek help from academia in order to achieve the greatest possible impact in the transition. This strengthens the quality of our climate work," writes process leader Linda Nilsson in the status report.
Climate City Contract is constantly evolving. A major change initiated in 2025 is Joint Commitments between Cities. What does this mean?
Uppsala Municipality has been involved in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative since its inception and has joined forces with many partners in the local climate transition journey. In the status report, they describe collaborations with Region Uppsala, Vattenfall, Fossil Free Sweden, SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, and many more.
Every year, the process leaders in Climate Neutral Cities 2030 write a status report that provides a brief overview of the local climate transition work currently underway. What is happening in Climate Neutral Nacka 2030? Process leader Emma Östlund explains: "We see every initiative in the transition as important—nothing is too small to make a difference. Everything we do counts."
"We in Höör Municipality have compiled 101 measures relating to our own activities, aimed at building up knowledge and methods to strengthen our climate and sustainability work in the coming years," says Magnus Haara, Vice Chairman of the Municipal Council Chairman Höör. It is a range of measures relating to, among other things, the transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Read more in the status report.
The Viable Cities Champions 2025 are Elena Simion and Marcos Ros Sempere. They both received the award for their outstanding efforts in promoting climate transition in cities. The award was presented by programme director Olga Kordas during European Viable Cities Day on December 5.
Today, on European Viable Cities Day, we celebrate that 48 Swedish municipalities are mobilizing for climate-neutral cities by 2030, with a good life for everyone within the planet's limits. At the same time, Climate City Contract is celebrating its fifth anniversary.
The municipality of Boden is a clear example of how climate change is happening at all levels simultaneously, from local to global. Here, Stegra is building the world's first large-scale green steelworks, and here, data servers provide heat that enables year-round cultivation in the northern climate. You can read about this and much more in the status report from Boden.
Today, Viable Cities program director Olga Kordas and John Hultén, program director for Shift Sweden, have co-authored an opinion piece in Aktuell Hållbarhet arguing that Sweden must push for sustainable urban development in the EU's next framework program for research and innovation, Horizon Europe.
Avesta Municipality is one of the municipalities that joined the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative a year ago. It is joining forces with Borlänge Municipality and the entire Dalarna region, as well as with the local business community, to accelerate the transition. In the research project "Sustainable Avesta," neighborhoods in Avesta, Krylbo, and By are realizing their ideas for both sustainability and local community. Read more in the status report.
Climate change requires small and large efforts in all areas of society. Preschool children in Sundsvall municipality get to meet Smaskis to be inspired to adopt sustainable eating habits, and cyclists are encouraged to cycle all year round. The municipality is also working to ensure that the digital transformation goes hand in hand with climate change. Read more about the local transition journey in Sundsvall on the blog.
Cities are increasingly at the center of global climate action. Following Sweden's engagement in CHAMP, a delegation of Swedish representatives participated in COP30-related events in November 2025. In this article we gather key insights.
An important part of the climate transition in Höganäs municipality is promoting circular consumption and sustainable lifestyles among citizens. And they are happy to do so. The annual Food and Summer Festival is a sustainable event, and thousands of games have been facilitated with loans from Sportbanken and Piffl lockers. Read more about the city's transition journey on our blog, where process leader Fredrik Seger tells you more.
Kate Raworth and the monk model play a central role in the climate transition work in Tomelilla Municipality. Through the project ‘Foresight through the monk model’, residents are involved in exploring future scenarios. For example, children and parents have jointly created a place for community and conversation in connection with Kastanjeskolan school. Read more about this – and about the importance of grey beans in the transition – on our blog.
Broad political support for climate commitments has been important for Alvesta Municipality. They are one of the 25 municipalities that joined the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative almost a year ago. During the year, they have formulated the municipality's goals and ambitions in terms of energy, climate transition, and climate adaptation. And when the decision was made in the municipal council, positive comments were heard from all political parties. "This bodes well for the work on climate action plans," writes process leader Ebba Lejeby.
civil society citizens are central to the local transition journey in Eskilstuna Municipality. The Climate Hope Meeting, Knowledge Festival, World Environment Day, Litter Pick-up Days, Mobility Week, and Earth Hour—every year, a series of events are organized to increase engagement and awareness of environmental and climate issues. Now they are planning for even more citizen involvement and dialogue for a just transition, writes Elin Svanström, process leader for Climate Neutral Eskilstuna 2030.
"Borås City is a hub for creativity, innovative design, street art, e-commerce, and world-leading research in textiles. Borås also boasts magnificent nature, top-class sporting experiences, and a thriving business. And, not least, an entrepreneurial spirit that thinks outside the box, a "can-do" attitude that is constantly moving forward, and residents who are proud of their city." You can read about what this means for climate change in their status report.
How can we make the transition as quickly as possible? Växjö Municipality is enlisting the help of researchers from Linnaeus University to find out what the city needs to focus on in order to speed up the climate transition. In 2025, the Climate Council published its first report with recommendations. You can read about this and much more in the status report from Climate Neutral Växjö 2030.
The importance of mobilizing for climate change together with many actors is central to Arvika Municipality. "There is a strong interest in participating and contributing to the development of Arvika's climate arena. The actors involved all see the need for social development based on long-term sustainability," write the process leaders for Climate-Neutral Arvika 2030 in their status report.
Earlier this fall, Karlstad Municipality co-hosted the Transition Lab Forum, which focused on how climate transition, climate adaptation, and preparedness are interrelated. In the status report, Henric Barkman and Charlotte Wedberg discuss this and much more.
The biggest climate villain in Järfälla municipality is transportation. To change this, the municipality is working with several large employers to reduce emissions from commuting and business travel. Since 2011, emissions from municipal employees' commutes to and from work have been reduced by 50 percent! This is according to Ida Bohman in the city's status report.
Involving the local business community in the climate transition is an obvious part of the transition. In Sandviken Municipality, this is particularly important as the municipality's industries account for 50 percent of its greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, companies have strong incentives to transition in order to retain customers and market share. Read more in the city's status report.
"Working to achieve Climate Neutral Cities 2030 is a commitment to the future. For Landskrona, this means that we are taking active responsibility for the transition together with a national and European network," says Torkild Strandberg, Chairman of the Municipal Council Chairman Landskrona. You can read more about how Landskrona is mobilizing for a climate-neutral and sustainable city in their status report.
The City of Stockholm aims to be climate positive by 2030. How will this be achieved? One important initiative is the STOLT system demonstrator. "In just one year, STOLT has grown into a vibrant arena for collaboration and innovation. We are already seeing how new solutions are being tested in real life, how more players have joined, and how learning and scaling have become a natural part of the work," says Lars Strömgren, City Councilor for Transport, in the city's status report.
Climate-smart mobility is a focus of the transition work in Kalmar Municipality. The goal is 60 percent sustainable modes of transport by 2035. "This requires conscious social planning, but also a large dose of behavioral change," they write in their status report.
Financing the climate transition is a challenge and crucial to reach the mission of climate neutral cities by 2030. As a response to this Viable Cities is launching the Viability Fund for Cities. Fully operational, the fund will channel global private investments as well as public funding toward local climate action.
From data to participation – facts and analysis combined with broad internal participation. These are the keywords for climate transition work in Enköping municipality. Here, there is a transition arena with five transition teams (managers + relevant employees) and an expert team that reviews and delves deeper into the issues. Read more about this in the status report, written by process leader Maria Lindelöf.
"The city of Malmö aims to be climate neutral by 2030 and is one of the European Commission's selected pilot cities to lead the way in the transition. By 2030, Malmö's municipal organization will also achieve net zero emissions, and Malmö residents will have collectively halved their consumption-based emissions." This is according to process manager Linnea Folkesson in the city's status report.
The energy network on Gotland is an important piece of the puzzle in the island's climate transition. It is a meeting place for dialogue on energy and transition issues between industries and between business public organisations, with the aim of strengthening knowledge, collaboration, and local drive in the transition. You can read about this and much more in their status report.
Viable Cities is a strategic innovation program with the mission of achieving climate-neutral cities by 2030, ensuring a good quality of life for all within the planet’s limits. The program is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, Vinnova and Formas and coordinated by KTH.
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