December 18, 2025
Urban and industrial symbiosis, frameworks and working methods, and a focus on young change leaders.
Climate change is happening in Umeå, but it needs to happen faster. More initiatives in urban and industrial symbiosis, both locally within the Umeå Eco Industrial Park and together with other cities, are driving the work on circularity and energy transition. Testing the Umeå model for climate calculation guidelines in construction, together with partners in the Umeå Climate Roadmap, is increasing knowledge and trust in Umeå's construction industry and setting new standards.
We are steadily and persistently continuing our work with partnerships from local to international level to drive progress. Collaboration with Demos Helsinki within NetZeroCities has led to the development of working methods within the local climate contract and the Umeå Climate Roadmap partnership, where the revised framework for 2026-2028 is giving new impetus to climate transition work. Young change leaders, together with local actors, will be able to drive issues that are important to them and channel both energy and climate anxiety into local action for climate and sustainability.
In the city's latest update, they talk about the work, the transition arena, the project portfolio and much more.
Annika Myrén, process manager for Climate Neutral Umeå 2030, annika.myren@umea.se
In Umeå, the business community and the municipality have long worked together to reduce climate emissions and achieve climate goals. It started with a cooperation on food and agriculture issues, and since 2021, 56 companies from all possible sectors are involved in the Umeå Climate Roadmap.
Health promotion work in elderly care creates added value for both the climate and society.
Umeå’s “Seniortorget” ecosystem, which opened in 2021, combines digital platforms, physical meeting places, intergenerational programs, rural collaboration, and preventive health strategies. These programs demonstrate measurable benefits for both well-being and the climate in Umeå. By reducing travel and promoting healthy lifestyles, the initiative has already avoided approximately 355 tons of CO₂e per year and created 399 years of healthy life (FLY) for participants.
This innovative work within Umeå Municipality's elderly care received international attention when it was presented at the UN Climate Change Conference COP30 in Belém, Brazil, on November 10–21, 2025. Seniortorget is highlighted as a world-leading example of how medium-sized cities can drive systemic innovation and create added value for both the climate and society.
Umeå highlights additional actions that they believe may be of particular interest to other municipalities to spy and apply. Contact the process leader to spy and apply.
Climate City Contract 2030 is a collective effort to achieve the climate transition that we need to implement in a short time to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees. It is an agreement between municipalities, government agencies and Viable Cities where all parties undertake to make a concrete contribution to increasing the pace of climate change.
To achieve deep change, we need to move from fragmented projects to an ecosystem of efforts that all pull in the same direction. Cities are doing this together with Viable Cities, funders government agencies and other partners, in different constellations and with different objectives. It is about moving beyond dealing with symptoms and instead focusing on underlying problems in our social structure. Here you will find the initiatives and studies within the city that have been granted funding under Viable Cities.
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In October 2024, Umeå was one of 20 European cities to be awarded the EU Mission Label for its work to accelerate the transition to a climate-neutral and sustainable city.
Since 2022, Umeå is part of the first cohort of pilot cities from twenty-one EU Member States and Horizon 2020 associated countries, selected to launch unprecedented climate action, through the NetZeroCities Pilot Cities program.
Umeå is part of the NetZeroCities 112 Mission Cities, selected since 2022 to pioneer the EU Cities Mission.
Viable Cities is a strategic innovation program with the mission of achieving climate-neutral cities by 2030, ensuring a good quality of life for all within the planet’s limits. The program is funded by the Swedish Energy Agency, Vinnova and Formas and coordinated by KTH.
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