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.
"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.
The Municipality of Ulricehamn joined the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative a year ago. In their status report, they describe how they are tackling the climate challenge.
We offer some weekend reading from the north: "Örnsköldsvik is transforming together, with the entire municipal group driving the change. We are doing this step by step, together with people, companies, and associations throughout the municipality. Because we know that everything we do counts." This is what process leader Linn Backman Hallberg, Örnsköldsvik Municipality, writes in her status report on the local transition journey.
A 15-minute city in Lomma? Yes, it's in the works. Lomma has already made and plans to make major investments to create one, through densification, the creation of squares, and the concentration of commerce, culture, and services in central locations and recreation in the surrounding area. Lomma Municipality is one of the municipalities that joined the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative in December 2024 and is a twin city, i.e., it has joined forces with Climate Neutral Lund 2030. What does the transition work look like in Lomma right now? Process leaders Ulrika Håkansson Ström and Per Blomberg have the floor.
What is happening right now in the local transition journey in Kristianstad municipality? Quite a lot, as it turns out. One exciting initiative is Gården i centrum (The Farm in the Center), where local actors—farmers, banks, public actors, food companies, and insurance companies—are working together to explore what measures can be taken on a farm to either reduce greenhouse gas emissions or increase carbon storage. Read more in the status report from Klimatneutrala Kristianstad 2030 (Climate-Neutral Kristianstad 2030).
An airport for drones, a new bridge, Karlsbron, and a modern port are some of the initiatives in Skellefteå municipality on the road to sustainable travel and transport. In their status report, process leaders Gustaf Ulander and Stina Sundberg talk about what they are currently working on to create a climate-neutral and sustainable city.
"The climate challenge is complex, and complex challenges require changes in working methods. And it is precisely these changes in working methods that we have focused on in the municipality's revised climate strategy," says Peter Larsson, municipal director of Örebro Municipality, in the status report from Climate Neutral Örebro 2030. You can read much more about Örebro's work with climate change on our blog.
"We don't have time to wait! We need to implement and scale up the best solutions available today. There is no copyright between municipalities. We have a great responsibility to learn from each other," says Anders Almgren, Chairman the Municipal Council Chairman Lund, about climate change in the city. Read more about what is happening in Lund in the status report on our blog.
In October 2024, Valencia was hit by a flooding disaster of enormous proportions, resulting in the loss of more than 200 lives and extensive material damage - with knock-on effects throughout the community. This climate-related disaster has become a wake-up call, and important work is now underway in Spain to future-proof cities and regions by integrating both risk management and climate adaptation measures
Green travel plans, fossil-free fleet procurement targets and harnessing synergies from national initiatives. Swedish cities and government agencies are inspiring. At the Sweden-Brazil Innovation Week in October, the work being done in Lund and Stockholm on system demonstrators was highlighted, as well as insights from the analysis of transport and mobility from all Climate City Contract 2030 from last year.
Can public procurement contribute to better public health, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, higher quality of life in cities, better working conditions - while supporting Swedish innovation? The answer is yes. By setting requirements for electrified construction projects, municipalities and public procurers can accelerate the transition to fossil-free cities.
Sweden is raising its climate ambitions internationally and joining CHAMP, a global platform to accelerate climate action in cities. Viable Cities will coordinate Sweden's participation in the initiative.
Helsingborg becomes the ninth municipality to sign the Memorandum of Understanding on Zero Emissions Construction, the joint initiative between Infra Sweden, Fossil Free Sweden and Viable Cities.
Copyright © 2024 Viable Cities | Website policy | Accessibility
