In September, 40 so-called twin cities were selected for the NetZeroCities twin cities program - a new program within the framework of the EU's mission on climate neutral cities. Lund and Luleå are the two Swedish cities that have been selected and matched with pilot cities.
The purpose of the twin city program is to match cities with common challenges and conditions regarding the climate transition work, to learn from each other and create and replicate methods to accelerate the transition to climate neutral cities. The 40 selected twin cities have been matched with 25 pilot cities, where three Swedish cities are already involved: Malmö, Uppsala and Umeå. In the twin city program, Lund has been paired with the pilot city Leuven in Belgium, and Luleå with the Swedish pilot city Umeå.
Sophie Forsberg from Luleå Municipality explains:
In Luleå, we have been members of Viable Cities for just over a year. We saw the NetZeroCities twin city program as a way to build on our work in Luleå, the cooperation in northern Sweden with, for example, Umeå, and to also connect us to the EU mission of 100 climate neutral cities, and all other role models in the international arena.
The twinning program aims to create learning platforms, promote knowledge exchange and encourage the sharing of best practices between cities. The twin cities will now engage in cooperation and exchange, including workshops, visits and digital meetings, to get a clearer view of the pilot city's work and its ability to implement previous solutions.
Jon Andersson of Lund Municipality explains:
Lund is already one of the 100 climate neutral cities, but we saw this program as an opportunity to strengthen the exchange with an exciting European partner city, Leuven in Belgium.
Several other European cities have been matched and selected to link up with the three Swedish pilot cities: Wiesbaden (Germany) with Malmö, Braga (Portugal) and Riga (Latvia) with Uppsala, and Wurzburg (Germany) with Umeå.
At the end of the 20-month program period, cities are expected to develop a replication plan to facilitate the practical implementation of measures. The next application period to become a twin city opens in spring 2024.
