Working together for climate neutral cities - from Umeå to the EU

"It always seems impossible until it is done." Maria Vassilakou, EU mission board on climate neutral cities, quoted Nelson Mandela when she visited Transition Lab Forum 3, September 16-17.
She was one of many speakers who during two days gave power and inspiration for further work on the mission: Climate neutral cities 2030 with a good life for all within the planetary boundaries.

The third Transition Lab Forum - with the theme of citizen engagement and local Climate City Contract - was held digitally and organized together with Umeå Municipality, one of the cities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative.

Although only Umeå residents were physically present, the participants still got a good insight into Umeå's work. Gender equality strategist Linda Gustafsson offered a digital tour of various places in the city that have been shaped from a gender equality perspective, such as Sara Lidman's underpass, Hedlunda preschool and Årstidernas park. Also participating from Umeå were councillors Hans Lindberg and Janet Ågren, who highlighted the importance of linking global initiatives to the local level, which in Umeå means working on a local Paris Agreement.

Co-creation - not participation

We also heard more about the work with Climate Neutral Umeå, about Uppsala's campaign Klimatlätt with the app Svalna (the climate calculator that analyzes emissions based on your purchases) and about how Järfälla develops its citizen engagement in the development of Barkabystaden by collaborating with researchers. Politicians from Gothenburg, Lund and Växjö shared their experiences of working with citizen engagement in their respective municipalities.

Good examples of citizen involvement came from many places. Nantes in France is one of the cities in Europe that works most on engaging citizens in urban development. This is necessary to achieve the climate transition," said Deputy Mayor Bassem Asseh. Many speakers emphasized this, such as Maria Vassilakou, EU mission board on climate neutral cities and former deputy mayor of Vienna, Austria:

- Citizen participation is yesterday, today we need to co-create cities together all the way.

National architect Helena Bjarnegård, Chairman Council for Sustainable Cities, also agreed. "Dialogue should never stop, it should live on after we cut the ribbon. This is how we achieve sustainable development." She highlighted Jubileumsparken in Gothenburg as a good example of a meeting place created for and by everyone.

- Respect citizens' time. It has to be important, it has to be engaging and it has to produce results," said Lena Langlet, an expert on civic dialogue from Sweden's municipalities and regions, citing the Montreal Charter of Rights and Responsibilities as a good example.

Climate City Contract and funding

The local climate contracts - which will be co-created during the fall within Viable Cities together with the nine cities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative - and the financing of the climate transition were also discussed during the conference. Viable Cities Chairman Allan Larsson and Finance and Procurement Strategist Charlotta Möller gave an overview of the work on the climate contract and also talked about the financing of the transition.

- The financial sector must always be present, it is a prerequisite for the climate transition to take place. The stumbling blocks within the sector must be broken, they currently lack the knowledge that Swedish cities possess," said Charlotta Möller.

Viable Cities Allan Larsson, also vice Chairman of the EU Mission board on climate neutral cities, gave an insight into the link between the climate contract for municipalities and the EU level. The Mission board on climate neutral cities has submitted a proposal to the European Commission for an initiative on 100climate-neutral cities in Europe(100 climate-neutral cities by 2030 - by and for the citizens).

Support at national level

Elin Olsson (MP), State Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Housing Per Bolund, said that there is already a strong commitment to climate change in the municipalities, but she also said that the state needs to help raise the level further, for example through legislation.

- "We also see the need for the municipalities to have joint funding to give them a boost - we don't have that yet. But there is great interest in finding a solution to this," she said.

She said that the municipalities' work on climate change must be made easier, for example with a "one-stop shop", i.e. a clear discussion partner for the municipalities. The national level needs to shift from fragmented to coordinated efforts.

- It is important that the pressure from municipalities, Viable Cities and other initiatives is maintained, that a solution is sought. I hope that Viable Cities will continue to be a driving force on this issue.

Maria Vassilakou gave some good advice along the way: "We should not forget that behavioral change takes time. Co-creation and movement require strong leadership and bold decisions."

The whole conference

Can be viewed afterwards on vbct.es/youtube

Full program

16 Sep How do we engage citizens in the climate transition?

9.00 Welcome
Olga Kordas, Program Manager Viable Cities and Hans Lindberg (S), Municipal Councillor, Umeå Municipality.

9.15 How Climate Neutral Umeå 2030 works with citizen involvement
Annika Myrén, project manager, Umeå municipality

9.35 Other examples of involving citizens in climate action

• Ida Bohman, Järfälla Municipality, and Natasja Börjeson, Södertörn University, talk about their collaboration.

• About Klimatlätt and citizen engagement in Uppsala municipality; Björn Sigurdson and Marika Palmer-Rivera.

• Citizens' Dialogue in Practice, Lena Langlet, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, SALAR.

10.15 Panel: How can citizen engagement become a powerful force in the climate transition?
Björn Sigurdson, Ida Bohman and Lena Langlet

10.30 Umeå in a new perspective - Gender equality on streets, in parks and other urban spaces (digital study visit)
Linda Gustafsson, Umeå municipality

11.10 Outlook, France: Citizen dialogue and climate transition - experiences from Nantes.
Bassem Asseh, Deputy Mayor, Nantes (in English)

11.25 Reflections
Anthony Zacharzewski, Democratic Society, and Hanna Kroksson, LSU, Sweden's youth organizations (in English)

11.45 Urban missions and citizen engagement in practice - Experiments in streets
Dan Hill, design strategist Vinnova and Åsa Minoz, innovation strategist Viable Cities

11.55 Reflection and conclusion
Viable Cities program manager Olga Kordas and Annika Myrén, project manager, Umeå municipality.

17 Sep How can citizens be involved in the climate contract?

10.00 Introduction
Olga Kordas, Program Manager Viable Cities and Hans Lindberg (S), Municipal Councillor, Umeå Municipality.

10.05 Climate City Contract as an enabler for civic engagement
Allan Larsson, Chairman of the Board, Viable Cities, and Charlotta Möller, Finance and Procurement Strategist, Viable Cities.

10.15 Outlook, EU: Perspectives on citizen engagement in EU mission board on climate neutral cities
Maria Vassilakou, Former Vice-Mayor and Executive City Councillor of the City of Vienna.

10.35 Reflection: Climate City Contract 2030 as a tool for Swedish cities' climate transition
Elin Olsson, State Secretary (MP), Swedish Government

10.50 Outlook, Canada: Civic capital - New models for urban transition and citizen engagement
Indy Johar, founder of Dark Matter Labs (in English)

11.10 How Swedish cities work with the climate contract and citizen engagement
Emmyly Bönfors (C), Gothenburg; Camilla Neptune (L), Lund; Janet Ågren (S), Umeå, Magnus P Wåhlin (MP), Växjö.

11.35 Panel: How can cities' climate investments promote democracy, equality and justice?
Helena Bjarnegård, Council for Sustainable Cities; Charlotta Möller, Finance and Procurement Strategist Viable Cities

11.55 Closing and looking ahead
Olga Kordas, Program Manager Viable Cities; Janet Ågren (S) and Hans Lindberg (S), Umeå municipality.