Gävle, Borlänge and Eskilstuna are three of the "newer" municipalities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative. This week, the project managers from the three met at the Palladium in Borlänge for joint learning.
- "There is great value in developing existing and finding new forms of cooperation between cities when the climate work is accelerated," says Evelina Loberg, project manager in Gävle municipality.
In the picture from the afternoon's workshop with Future-Proof Cities: In the front row, the day's host Salomon Abresparr, Borlänge, and from the left Erik Apel and Evelina Loberg, Gävle, Kristina Birath, Eskilstuna, and Lars Johansson, Viable Cities.
In October last year, the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative grew from nine to 23 municipalities. Viable Cities has many meeting places to contribute to learning between the cities, but the desire for knowledge is great. This week Salomon Abresparr, project manager in Borlänge municipality, invited colleagues from Eskilstuna and Gävle to a meeting.
- Viable Cities is a lever in Borlänge's climate work. Today, Climate Neutral Borlänge 2030 together with Climate Neutral Gävle 2030 and Climate Neutral Eskilstuna 2030 have exchanged experiences on how we work with Climate City Contract, citizen engagement and collaboration with the business community in our cities, says Salomon Abresparr.
- We have also explored how through existing partnerships, such as Future-Proof Cities, we can jointly work on the mission of Climate Neutral Cities with a good life for all within the boundaries of the planet," he continues.
With fewer participants, there was time for both presentations of each city's work and in-depth discussion of issues that are common in the work towards climate-neutral and sustainable cities.
- Sometimes it is difficult to be a prophet in your own city. How can we be each other's ambassadors?" asked Evelina Loberg, for example.
The meeting was also attended by Lars Johansson, Coordinator for Climate Neutral Cities 2030. He joined the Viable Cities program office on 1 March and sees great benefits from smaller meetings.
- It's great to see how the cities are meeting and already interacting in a common learning for the mission. One focus of Climate Neutral Cities 2030 is to support and develop opportunities for collaboration and learning between cities," says Lars Johansson.
Participating in Borlänge were Charlotte H. Kindmark, Eskilstuna municipality, Evelina Loberg and Erik Apel, Gävle municipality, Viktoria Bengtsson and Salomon Abresparr, Borlänge municipality; Anna Wenstedt, Borlänge Energi and Lars Johansson, Viable Cities program office.
In the afternoon, all three cities participated in a workshop with Future-Proof Cities, which was based on the three cities' participation in Viable Cities and the battery company Northvolt's establishment in Borlänge. The Future-Proof Cities research school focuses on sustainable urban development and is based on a societal dialogue on the challenges facing medium-sized Swedish cities.
