Two Swedish system demonstrators for climate-neutral cities recently held their fall meeting. The initiatives, in Lund and Stockholm respectively, are pioneering and exploring how to work to implement the radical systemic changes required for the climate transition. The initiative is part of the Viable Cities Climate Neutral Cities 2030 mobilization, which currently includes 23 Swedish cities.
Participants from Stockholm and Lund, Viable Cities and Vinnova, as well as the Swedish Transport Administration, gathered on October 3-4 for a joint meeting for the system demonstrators CoAction and STOLT (formerly Snabbsam). The purpose of the days was to get to know each other better and discuss common challenges and collaboration between the two initiatives. About twenty people gathered at Hemmet, Viable Cities program office at KTH, campus Stockholm.
Strengths and weaknesses under the microscope
On Thursday, CoAction Lund and STOLT in Stockholm presented their initiatives to each other and shared what they are proud to have achieved so far and what challenges they are facing. To create the best possible space for genuine learning and honest discussions, the meeting started with a check-in that focused on our weaknesses. The check-in question was: Name one of your weaknesses, something you struggle with a lot or a failure that you learned something from. This laid the foundation for an open, responsive and curious conversation.
- I liked the open discussion where we shared both strengths and weaknesses. We have been able to exchange experiences and get more in depth than we have done before, says Markus Paulsson, project manager for CoAction Lund.
- "When working with innovation, the importance of accepting failure and missteps is crucial. This kind of ongoing reflection is a good way to do that, as opposed to the more regimented learning at the end," says Martina Arnell, project manager of STOLT.
Rewarding exchange
There were many items on the agenda: how to keep the consortium alive and active, portfolio management, system understanding, digitization, as well as scaling to other cities and long-term funding.
- The exchange with CoAction Lund and Viable Cities broadens our horizons, says Annika Bergendahl, who works with long-term financing and scaling at STOLT.
Another issue discussed was how experiences and lessons learned from CoAction Lund and STOLT are taken care of and disseminated at different levels, within and between the initiatives, and with all other cities mobilizing both within Viable Cities and beyond.
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System demonstrators for climate-neutral cities aim to play an essential role in cities' ability to accelerate the transition towards climate neutrality by 2030. They are expected to generate high visibility and engagement locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Read more about system demonstrators for climate-neutral cities here.
In one of Sweden's most densely populated areas with heavy traffic, Lund, together with a number of stakeholders, will create a mobility system with reduced emissions while maintaining accessibility. The mobility system will also be linked to a local climate-neutral energy system in the area where energy is produced and shared between the properties.
The City of Stockholm and its partners will work for a comprehensive transition of travel habits, land use and vehicle fleet in Stockholm's inner city. This is a step towards an emission-free inner city and a climate-positive Stockholm in 2030. In the system demonstrator, the environmental zone planned in central Stockholm will be used both as an engine and a window of opportunity in the quest for a transport-efficient and emission-free transport system that eventually extends far beyond the boundaries of the zone.
