Climate transition investments can create both business opportunities and a more sustainable city. Research shows that climate investments can generate significant benefits, both direct economic gains and added value such as jobs, cleaner air and better health. During this Climate Breakfast, we dive into what it means to make climate investments and how climate investment plans take shape.
On March 6, 2024, we opened a call that gives several Swedish cities the opportunity to increase the pace of transition and show the way for others in Climate Neutral Cities 2030 3.0. During this Climate Breakfast, we talked about the international aspect of Climate Neutral Cities 2030 and what role internationalization plays in the local transition work.
Just transition means greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible for all concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind. It means meeting climate targets by ensuring that all of society - all communities, all workers, all social groups - are involved in the climate transition.
Several of the cities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative are actively working with events and organizers, exploring how they can work together towards climate neutrality. During this Climate Breakfast, we will explore how events can be engines for the transition to climate neutrality through organizers, visitors and other stakeholders, and how they can be part of the development of climate neutral cities and communities.
Almost all cities involved in the Viable Cities program Climate Neutral Cities 2030 have a higher education institution. They provide highly relevant research and education at different levels. But in what other ways do they contribute to the climate transition and what could they do more of? During this climate breakfast, we explore how higher education institutions can accelerate their contribution to the climate transition, including through collaboration in new ways.
Competitive businesses in climate-neutral cities - how do we accelerate collaboration between municipalities andbusiness? The role of businesses in the climate transition has become increasingly high on the agenda in Sweden and internationally. Viable Cities is therefore investing in the Climate Competitiveness initiative in 2023 to accelerate collaboration between municipalitiesbusiness to both strengthen companies and achieve the mission.
Negative emissions, i.e. the capture of carbon dioxide, have been highlighted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as necessary to meet climate targets. A natural carbon sink - such as vegetation or water bodies - is a feature where carbon dioxide is taken out of the air through a natural process and then stored for a period of time, from a decade to thousands of years. Knowledge about carbon storage in forests and soils has great potential to help municipalities reduce their climate impact, thus contributing to achieving the mission of climate-neutral cities by 2030.
Much of the emissions in cities come from the transportation of people and goods, making mobility a key issue in the transition to climate-neutral cities. Climate Breakfast 30 explored how the mobility of the future can be designed for the transition; what sustainable climate-neutral mobility and accessibility can look like in practice; what collective mobility and micromobility are and what role they play; and how Linköping and Järfälla work with mobility as part of their climate transition work.
On behalf of Vinnova, Sweco has investigated key actors and environments in innovation for sustainable spatial planning. The results will form a strategic basis for Vinnova's continued work to support innovation that contributes to sustainable urban development. At this climate breakfast, parts of the results are presented together with reflections.
All Climate Neutral Cities 2030 actions involve businesses together with academia, public organisations and civil society. The municipal sphere has only partial control over the measures that need to be implemented, so business efforts and investments are crucial.
Sustainable, innovative solutions for buildings, outdoor environment and mobility that have been implemented in various pilot projects, projects and initiatives need to be captured and become standard solutions for both new construction and upgrading of urban areas. Then large-scale sustainable urban development can be achieved.
The transition to become climate neutral 2030 requires that cities work in new ways. In this climate breakfast we explore how the cities of Valencia and Stockholm have handled this challenge in terms of leadership, organization and capacity building. We also learn more about new tools such as portfolio management and the role of intermediary organizations such as citiES 2030 in Spain and Viable Cities in Sweden, for supporting this development.
During the year, Viable Cities is exploring this together with the county administrative boards and regions in Västerbotten and Norrbotten. On behalf of the government, work is now under way to develop Sweden's and indeed Europe's first Climate City Contract at regional level.
Gävle, Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Lund, Malmö, Stockholm and Umeå. It is now clear which Swedish municipalities will now be part of the EU's mission for climate-neutral cities in 2030 - Cities Mission. A total of 100 cities across Europe have been selected. But what does this mean for the cities that joined? And how can it contribute to the climate transition in all Swedish cities?
Events are a growing billion-dollar industry and a key component of the economy and profile of many cities. At the same time, they are an increasingly important tool for community development. The joy and excitement of an event is something special. There is a strength and power to influence and change. This is why events have a great potential to contribute to, push and accelerate the climate transition.
Nature is a good example of a circular system, nothing becomes trash that needs to be disposed of, everything is recreated into something new. To keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees, we need to find circular systems for the resources we use. During Climate Breakfast 21, we went from broad brushstrokes in the EU to local initiatives in Karlstad. How can the circular economy contribute more to the climate transition?
Many of the emissions we need to address come from construction, including the materials used, such as concrete. But it is possible to use other materials, the forest contributes a material that is both strong and sustainable. Sustainable construction in wood is the theme of Climate Breakfast 20, where we are hosted by Tomas Nord from RISE / Smart Housing Småland and Britt-Inger Brisádottir, development strategist, Gustaf Ulander, project manager, both from Skellefteå municipality.
This breakfast is hosted by our program manager Olga Kordas, who develops the thoughts about Climate City Contract 2030's innermost essence, and by Henrik Johansson from Växjö municipality and Charlotte Brynielsson from Kalmar municipality. Both municipalities are part of the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative and will talk about the value of Climate City Contract, the iterative process, what they have achieved and their plans for the future. Welcome to the Viable Cities Climate Breakfast 2022!
For two years, Viable Cities has, through the Nordic Transition Partnership project, supported Nordic collaboration between small and medium-sized cities to accelerate climate work with a special focus on the circular economy. In this Climate Breakfast, we were welcomed by Ulrika Holmgren from Smart Innovation Norway who leads the project, as well as Pelle Hallberg from Gästrike återvinnare in Gävle and Elisabet Farner from Kristianstad municipality with long experience of Nordic collaboration who share challenges and success factors.
To find solutions to the enormous societal challenges posed by global warming, we must work in new ways, within municipal operations but also across the private and public sectors public organisations. Accelerera, a joint initiative by Vinnova and Viable Cities, will develop support to achieve this. Climate Breakfast 17 was attended by, among others, Anna Fjällström from Accelerera, who is working to develop this support, and by Jenny Ångman, Järfälla municipality, and Sophia Sundberg, Barkarby Science, who talked about their experiences of creating and working in innovation teams.
Climate investment plans will mobilize transition capital, both from municipalities and other stakeholders, to make cities climate neutral by 2030. Viable Cities has initiated four development projects that will contribute to the development of Climate City Contract 2030 and the climate transition in cities. One of them is climate investment plans.
In the work with Climate City Contract 2030, Viable Cities has identified four areas as strategically important for the climate transition in cities. Last spring, Ramboll was commissioned to work with us to develop a strategy for one of these areas, it is about how digitalization and digital tools can support the transition to climate neutral and sustainable cities.
Last spring, Anthesis was commissioned by Viable Cities to develop a strategy for engaging citizens and civil society as co-creators of the city's future. Through workshops and interviews, Anthesis, together with its partners Actinate and Sustainable 3.0, has collected information that is analyzed and now results in recommendations on a possible way forward.
It is 2053 and the FOSSIL museum has just opened the exhibition Beyond the Fossil Society, which celebrates the fact that Sweden was the first country in the world to leave the fossil fuel era when net-zero emissions were reached in 2045.
The last climate breakfast of the season was about circular economy. We were hosted by Liv Öberg, project manager in Umeå municipality. Umeå was the only Swedish municipality included in the OECD program for circular economy and has signed the European Circular Cities Declaration. She was joined by Stina Behrens, Barkarby Science, who drives innovation for sustainable urban development in Järfälla together with the municipality and other stakeholders.
To achieve the radical societal changes that the climate transition requires, we need to cooperate and learn from each other, both within the country and internationally. Climate Breakfast 11 was hosted by Nina Rismalm, North Sweden Cleantech; Östen Ekengren, Smart City Sweden, and Philip Näslund, Umeå Municipality.
Allan Larsson has been Chairman on our board since Viable Cities started, and since then he has made invaluable contributions to our development. At the Annual General Meeting on April 15, he will hand over to a new Chairman. A lot has happened along the way and at Climate Breakfast 10 Allan Larsson developed his thoughts on the journey with Viable Cities and some of the stops along the way. Per Grankvist, our chief storyteller, led the conversation.
To speed up the climate transition, everyone in society needs to be involved. The Hammarby Sjöstad 2.0 project in Stockholm is a citizens' initiative to reduce the climate footprint of the district. In the project, 55 housing associations with 12,500 residents, companies, researchers and the City of Stockholm are working together to become climate neutral by 2030. Climate Breakfast 9 was hosted by Jörgen Lööf, ElectriCITY Innovation, and Charlie Gullström, Sweco/RISE.
The starting point for Climate Breakfast 8 was the project One roof, five possibilities. The project has investigated how roofs - with a focus on water, energy, cultivation, recreation and biodiversity - can affect a property's economy and what socio-economic benefits they can generate. Watch the Climate Breakfast afterwards and take part in the presentations.
On behalf of Viable Cities, our member Klimatkommunerna has made an overview of how municipalities structure their climate work. Among other things, they have identified some key factors for successful climate transition in cities. Listen to Filippa Borgström, Klimatkommunerna, Elin Sundqvist, Helsingborg City and Sara Olsson, Järfälla Municipality, at the first Climate Breakfast of the spring, which you can watch here.
To transition to climate-neutral and sustainable cities, we need to communicate with citizens, business and many other stakeholders. In this climate breakfast, communication strategist Therese Ek talks about how Lund municipality works to coordinate sustainability communication. We also get reflections on the topic from Annika Egan Sjölander, who researches communication for sustainable societies.
How do you work long-term and systematically with innovation? Vinnova and Viable Cities are now launching a project to develop skills, methods and tools for innovation management for climate-neutral and sustainable cities. Climate Breakfast 5 was hosted by Glenn Gran from Vinnova, Lisa Olsson, City of Helsingborg and Ellen Grahn, Umeå Municipality.
Climate Breakfast 4 was organized in collaboration with Drive Sweden and focused on different pieces of the puzzle that are necessary in the transition to a transport system that is sustainable, safe and accessible to all.
Our third climate breakfast was about financing the climate transition. Viable Cities' Finance and Procurement Strategist Charlotta Möller introduced the topic, followed by a discussion with Fedra Vanhuyse, Head of Unit Societal Transitions, Stockholm Environmental Institute, and Björn Bergstrand, Head of Sustainability, Kommuninvest.
Several Swedish cities are working on the transition to climate-neutral cities in 2030 within the framework of Viable Cities. During Climate Breakfast 2, Umeå, Uppsala and Malmö shared their experiences from the work of visualizing the climate transition based on some development projects where different tools have been used.
On September 30, Viable Cities held its first climate breakfast. Guests were Edward Andersson from Democratic Society, who gave concrete tips on how to develop citizen engagement and Charlotte Gustafsson-Brynielsson from Växjö reflected on how they work with it in Växjö.
