The local transformation journey must happen at a rapid pace in cities and communities across the planet. Last week, Lars Johansson, Viable Cities change leader, was in Washington DC, USA, to do just that. How can strengthened cooperation between Sweden and the US contribute to the mission of Climate Neutral Cities 2030 with a good life for all within the planet's borders?
The European partnership Driving urban transitions, DUT, provides support for research and innovation projects that help cities in the transition to sustainable economies and societies. The results of the first call show great interest among European stakeholders - and for Sweden, participation is a success.
Within Viable Cities, today, in 2023, a growing number of cities are mobilizing together with a wide range of stakeholders to accelerate the local transition journey to climate-neutral and sustainable communities. The mobilization is happening at several levels simultaneously - local, regional, national and international. But how did it start?
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.
Halved electricity consumption, the opportunity for district heating to contribute with negative emissions and a citizens' assembly - a lot is happening in Örebro! Last week, the Viable Cities program office visited the Climate Neutral Örebro kick-off.
Successful projects and pilot projects in municipalities are not scaled up. It is more chance than structure that makes projects continue, and it is often down to a single enthusiast to make it happen. How can we move away from this?
We are organizing 2 sessions, and partnering for a day at the Sustainability Arena at Teaterskeppet. We look forward to the sessions that have broad representation from political leaders in cities, key actors from national government agencies, the European Commission and our sister program in Spain CitiES2030. Together we accelerate the transition to Climate Neutral Cities 2030!
In collaboration with Viable Cities and Accelerera, Linköping University offers a course for those who work strategically with climate transition processes in municipalities; "Working with climate transition and transformative innovation", 7.5 credits, November 2023 - June 2024. The course aims to deepen and broaden your knowledge of transformative innovation, mission-oriented innovation policy and strategic innovation management in municipalities. The program will also provide a deeper understanding and insight into current research in the field as well as practical strategies and tools for working with climate change.
Today, Viable Cities was present at the National Climate Summit with our Program Manager Olga Kordas. It is crucial that we continue to work together to accelerate the transition to climate-neutral cities, aiming for a good life for all within the planet's boundaries. We must not forget the human perspective when we talk about the future.
New report on the role of cities in the climate transition and a new emerging model to lead, manage and implement the transition faster than today, collectively known as 'governance'.
A new EU initiative - UniCities, led by KTH - aims to support stakeholders in Ukraine in building skills to rebuild cities, while making them climate neutral and sustainable for the future.
Vinnova notes, in its business environment analysis, that cities are of decisive importance for the world's climate-impacting emissions and that purposeful investments are required to achieve major effects on the climate transition.
The Twinning program will guide twin cities in their learning and replication efforts from pilot cities, with a practical focus on replicating the systemic transformation methods and innovative approaches demonstrated by the pilot activities, on the path towards climate neutrality.
In mid-March, the Government Offices of Sweden hosted an expert meeting on the 2030 Agenda under the Swedish Presidency. 2023 marks the halfway point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and it is clear that the work needs to be stepped up if the global goals are to be met on time.
Today, the list of Sweden's 100 most powerful sustainability leaders was released and we at Viable Cities are proud that both our program manager Olga Kordas and vice Chairman Anders Wijkman once again take place on the list, this time place 38 and place 18. Several with connections to Viable Cities are on the list, click on the title to read more.
As part of Sweden's EU Presidency program, on April 12, the Swedish Research and Innovation Office in Brussels (SWERI) hosted a seminar on EU Missions, focusing on how the missions are translated from policy to implementation. Viable Cities Internationalization Strategist Albert Edman, who is also Senior Project Manager at RISE and focus area leader for Cities and Communities in Change, participated in the seminar in a panel discussion.
This spring, Viable Cities and Digidem Lab are entering a deeper collaboration on citizen engagement. Pierre Mesure has for 5 years supported municipalities to involve citizens in decision-making, with a focus on the underrepresented in our institutions.
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.
The performance Is my microphone on? is inspired by the speech given by climate activist Greta Thunberg on April 23, 2019. The performance is written for an adult audience and is performed by youth ensembles around Sweden. It depicts young people's concerns, fears and frustrations, and connects to how we now need to speed up the transition to climate-neutral cities by 2030.
In the transition towards social, economic and environmental sustainability, innovation can be a powerful enabler. By equipping key people in municipal projects and municipal management with tools, strategies and skills, Accelerera builds concrete knowledge about innovation, creates new behaviors, and enables transformative change and increased sustainability.
Many of Ukraine's cities are destroyed and bombed out. A new EU initiative - UniCities - led by KTH, and initiated and coordinated by Viable Cities program manager Olga Kordas, will support actors in Ukraine to build skills to rebuild the cities so that they can become climate neutral and sustainable for the future.
This week, the Viable Cities program management has met with the municipal executive committee, managers and colleagues in Kristianstad municipality and several other actors in and outside the municipality to look forward together. What does a climate-neutral Kristianstad look like in 2030? How do we get there? In which areas does the work need to be sharpened? Who needs to be mobilized in order for us to move forward faster?
Among the first group of 53 cities from twenty-one countries selected to initiate climate action through the NetZeroCities Pilot Cities Programme are three of the Viable Cities Climate Neutral Cities 2030. Working individually and together, these cities will implement systemic and locally tailored innovative actions spanning multiple areas. The 53 cities have been selected from a wide range of over 100 applications.
Viable Cities Program Manager, Olga Kordas, will join the conversation on The climate city contract - At the EU, national and municipality levels, during Day 2 of Sweden Innovation Days! The conversation will cover how to build cooperation between citizens, politicians, businesses and civil servants, how national, regional and local levels need to cooperate in new ways, and how to do it all faster.
We are incredibly proud that our Chairman, Cecilia Schelin Seidegård, receives HM the King's medal in the 12th size in the ribbon of the Order of the Seraphim "for outstanding social contributions". We are all extremely happy for Cecilia, and proud that she is leading Viable Cities' important work forward with a view to climate-neutral cities in 2030 with a good life for everyone within the boundaries of the planet!
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.
Viable Cities is now entering a new phase where the strategic innovation programs are being redesigned. The next generation of innovation programs "Impact innovation" will be stakeholder-driven and long-term efforts to contribute to global competitiveness through the transition to sustainable development. Let's explore what the future of engagement in Viable Cities might look like!
Last week, Lund was also visited by Patrick Child from the European Commission! Patrick Child is responsible for Mission Cities, an initiative where a hundred cities in Europe will become climate neutral by 2030. In the interview, Patrick says that the most interesting thing from the visit to the city is Lund's mobilization around the climate neutrality agenda, where the authority works together with citizens and companies and explores different governance models for the mission climate neutral cities 2030.
Patrick Child, mission manager for climate neutral and smart cities and deputy director general of DG ENV, is visiting Sweden in the context of the Swedish presidency in the European Union. Today, Viable Cities hosted a meeting where the acceleration of the mission was discussed with participants from multiple levels; European, national, local. Prominent participants from the European Commission, Swedish government agencies, the City of Stockholm, and stakeholders from different parts of society.
We are delighted to announce that today we learned that Viable Cities has received funding to participate in the first phase of developing the strategic innovation program of the future: Impact Innovation.
In 2023, three calls will be opened within Horizon Europe under the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission-100 climate-neutral cities by 2030. The aim is to support European cities in their journey towards climate neutrality and is part of the European Green Deal, that the whole Union will be climate neutral by 2050.
Fedra Vanhuyse, the Finance and Procurement Strategist of Viable Cities, was a speaker during the session Thriving like an oak on the opening events of European Green Capital Tallinn. The key points were... (click on the image to read more)
Nine higher education institutions have been commissioned by the government to create a wide range of courses in dialogue with relevant organizations in business and the surrounding community. The result is the Open for Climate initiative, with courses in areas such as circular economy, battery technology, raw materials, urban planning and much more. All courses are accessible to everyone, require no special prior knowledge and are completely free of charge. The majority of higher education institutions are members of Viable Cities.
Our 23 cities and Directors-General in 6 government agencies have signed Climate City Contract 2030. Read more in the press release.
Olga Kordas talks about the climate crisis and the signing of the Swedish Climate City Contract that takes place on European Viable Cities Day.
Mikael Sanfridson, Mayor of Linköping, talks about Linköping's climate work during the year and how the municipality will increase its ambitions and the pace of climate change in the future. The film is recorded before European Viable Cities Day 2022 where 23 Swedish cities in the Viable Cities initiative Climate Neutral Cities 2030, of which Linköping is one of them, sign the 2022 Climate City Contract 2030.
Lena Lagestam, Chairman of the Board of Borlänge Energi, talks about Borlänge's climate work during the year and how the municipality will increase its ambitions and the pace of climate change in the future. The film is recorded before European Viable Cities Day 2022 where 23 Swedish cities in the Viable Cities initiative Climate Neutral Cities 2030, of which Borlänge is one of them, sign the 2022 Climate City Contract 2030.
Anders Almgen, Chairman in the municipal board in Lund, talks about Lund's climate work during the year and how the municipality will increase its ambitions and the pace of climate change in the future. The film is made ahead of European Viable Cities Day 2022, where 23 Swedish cities in the Viable Cities initiative Climate Neutral Cities 2030, of which Lund is one, sign the 2022 Climate City Contract 2030.
In Borlänge, Skellefteå and Karlstad, new mobility solutions are being developed to improve accessibility between town and country throughout Sweden. The new projects promote behavioral changes that can contribute to climate-smart and sustainable transport and mobility patterns for people and goods between city and country, in urban and rural areas.
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.
Smart City Expo World Congress (Barcelona, November 15-17) is the leading international event for the smart city sector, a key meeting point for experts and leaders of the world's most innovative cities, companies, research centers and international organizations. Over 24,000 professionals are expected from more than 700 cities and over 400 international speakers that will share their vision on how to build a more sustainable and livable urban future.
How can students accelerate the transition to Climate Neutral Cities 2030? What measures are needed to support municipal work?
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.
In all 23 cities that are part of Viable Cities' Climate Neutral Cities 2030 program, intensive work is underway with citizen engagement where they experiment with different forms. For more than a year now, Gothenburg has hosted Götepod, where city architect Björn Siesjö talks to guests about Gothenburg's urban development from different perspectives. In episode 18, he was visited by Karin Bjerner, Development Manager at the Environmental Administration, City of Gothenburg and Viable Cities Learning Strategist Lena Holmberg.
Carl Mossfeldt, who heads Gothenburg's climate transition function, used Karin Boye's poem Ja visst gör det ont in his opening speech at Lindholmen Open Day to illustrate the situation in which Gothenburg and many other cities find themselves in terms of daring to let go of the old. In his speech, he also emphasized the importance of seeing the climate transition in a geopolitical perspective ...
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.
Over 60 participants from all 23 cities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 program came together for a climate literacy workshop for municipal officials and politicians. We have now gathered all the external resources from our partnerships that are available for free on this issue.
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.
The development of so-called system demonstrators is a way to enable system innovation with great power and mobilization to meet complex societal challenges. With system demonstrators, Vinnova and Viable Cities want to test and demonstrate the transformation of a system in a real environment, where space is created for experiments and where areas with great potential can be scaled up. Six projects have been granted funding for a design phase.
Smart City Expo World Congress (Barcelona, November 15-17) is the leading international event for the smart city sector, a key meeting point for experts and leaders of the world's most innovative cities, companies, research centers and international organizations. Over 24,000 professionals are expected from more than 700 cities and over 400 international speakers that will share their vision on how to build a more sustainable and livable urban future.
