In May this year, the seven Swedish mission cities, Gothenburg, Gävle, Helsingborg, Lund, Malmö, Stockholm and Umeå, endorsed the 12-point vision of the Spanish mission cities, which was presented in 2023. In addition, it emphasizes the need for a common strategy for "scaling as the new normal" in the work towards climate-neutral and sustainable cities.
The fourteen Swedish and Spanish cities selected out of 112 European Cities Mission cities have created a joint declaration for the EU Cities Mission - Development Declaration for the Cities Mission: Upscaling the EU Cities Mission - European cities and platforms joining hands.
The aim is to strengthen and develop the work of the Mission, accelerate the pace of the transition and support cities in their important work towards climate neutrality by 2030. The Declaration has been developed with the support of Viable Cities and the Spanish Mission Platform CitiES2030. The Declaration is also supported by the Romanian Mission Platform M100.
The declaration is an important milestone in the development of the EU Cities Mission, a common voice for cities and platforms on scaling up support for urban climate transition. It is also a prominent example of the cooperation between the national platforms of Sweden and Spain - Viable Cities and CitiES2030.
Olga Kordas, Program Manager of Viable Cities
The joint declaration has now been handed over to Patrick Child, responsible for the Cities Mission at the European Commission. This took place in a formal ceremony during the conference Empowering Cities - The Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission in Action in Valencia on June 26.
The Swedish and Spanish cities are now inviting more cities and platforms to join the declaration and support the further development of the EU Cities Mission to achieve the transition to climate-neutral and sustainable cities with a good life for all within the planetary boundaries.