In Örebro, the municipal council recently adopted the Örebro municipal climate strategy after revision during the year. The targets in each of the six focus areas in the strategy are aimed at the municipal group, but the efforts relate to both the municipal group and the geographical area. The municipality has also set specific goals that they are working on together with other actors and the focus going forward is to implement the climate strategy's new working methods and implement prioritized activities.
The fourteen Swedish and Spanish cities among 112 European Cities Mission cities have created a joint declaration for the EU Cities Mission - Development Declaration for the Cities Mission: Upscaling the EU Cities Mission - European cities and platforms joining hands. The aim is to strengthen and develop the work of the Mission, accelerate the pace of the transition and support cities in their important work towards climate neutrality by 2030.
Karlstad is working on a broad front for the climate transition, from student councils and collaboration to climate investment plans and ambitious targets. Charlotte Wedberg and Henric Barkman, process managers for Climate Neutral Karlstad 2030, talk about the transition work in the city, which is both broad and ambitious.
In the midst of a burning climate crisis, the Swedish government is presenting a climate action plan that falls far short of what is needed to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees - the target agreed by world leaders in Paris in 2015. The Swedish government should do more to support the climate transition in the country's municipalities and support leading Swedish cities and municipalities.
The City of Stockholm and the Municipality of Lund are mobilizing actors in an innovative initiative to accelerate the transition to climate-neutral cities. The cities are placing particular focus on transport and mobility. They are each receiving SEK 20 million from the Swedish Energy Agency and Vinnova under the Viable Cities innovation program.
Already ten years ago, the journey towards the strategic innovation program Viable Cities began. To further accelerate the transition and strengthen Viable Cities' presence across Sweden, Viable Cities' new office and meeting place in Umeå was inaugurated this week.
The EU Cities Mission to deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030 include seven Swedish cities; Gothenburg, Gävle, Helsingborg, Lund, Malmö, Stockholm and Umeå. The seven Swedish Mission Cities have formed a joint Development Statement, which solidifies the Swedish cities' support of the visions of the Spanish Mission Cities, as well as stresses the need for a common strategy on "scaling as the new normal" when working towards climate neutral and sustainable cities. The statement was presented at the 1st Swedish Cities Mission Forum in Umeå, Sweden, on May 29th 2024.
In Sweden, several researchers have worked closely together with cities and national innovation actors to support them in steering sustainability transitions by contributing to learning from practice, increased reflexivity and helping to identify evidence about system change. This role got the name of 'följeforskare' (literal translation from Swedish is 'following' or 'companion' researcher). Together we will explore what makes "följeforskning" special in terms of benefits and challenges, why it is especially relevant in accelerating the transition to climate neutral cities, and what role it can play for both cities and national support platforms.
Stacks are appearing all around Karlstad - on benches, on stairs and not least on Stora torget, where they are four meters high! The bars represent Karlstad residents' climate emissions in the areas of consumption, transportation, food and energy. The bars will reappear every year until 2030 with new updated information on climate emissions.
The mobilization around the Mission on Climate Neutral Cities is a movement across Europe. This week, Viable Cities has participated in talks and workshops in connection with the Nordic Edge Expo in Stavanger and contributed with perspectives on Multilevel Governance and co-benifits in the transition, exemplified by ROI calculations on the climate transition.
Climate transition investments can create both business opportunities and a more sustainable city. Research shows that climate investments can generate significant benefits, both direct economic gains and added value such as jobs, cleaner air and better health. During this Climate Breakfast, we dive into what it means to make climate investments and how climate investment plans take shape.
On March 6, 2024, we opened a call that gives several Swedish cities the opportunity to increase the pace of transition and show the way for others in Climate Neutral Cities 2030 3.0. During this Climate Breakfast, we talked about the international aspect of Climate Neutral Cities 2030 and what role internationalization plays in the local transition work.
A prosperous municipality with growing pains. This is the socio-economic situation in Kalmar. This conclusion can be drawn from an analysis of the recently developed Social Compass for Kalmar. The focus is on the inhabitants - and their characteristics and conditions linked to where they live in the municipality. How many people go to work? How much do they earn? What percentage are born outside the EU and where do pensioners and families with children live?
Many higher education institutions are already actively contributing to climate transition of cities, but an acceleration is needed! This applies not least to working with students as agents of change as part of both education and research. Here the cities can contribute with relevant questions, recommendations and test environments. How is your institution doing? Use the checklist!
A ketchup effect that goes on a bit in secret. This is how one could describe what is currently happening in local energy landscapes around Sweden and the rest of Europe. Energy communities are here to stay and their potential is great. The question is what the role of municipalities will be in the future.
"Today we are opening the third call within the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative.
- This call is an important step in our continued mobilization of Swedish cities to become climate neutral and sustainable by 2030", says Olga Kordas, Programme Manager Viable Cities.
The door will soon open for more Swedish cities to mobilize for the mission of climate-neutral cities by 2030. In March, Viable Cities will open a new call to further accelerate the local transition journey and scale up the transition.
The Hammarby Sjöstad district in Stockholm aims to halve its climate impact by 2030 through a citizen-driven process developed by Sharing Cities Sweden in Stockholm, in collaboration with local stakeholders. But what must Sjöstaden's citizens and entrepreneurs do to realize this goal? Here, Örjan Svane, Professor Emeritus KTH, continues to discuss this.
The City of Malmö aims to be climate neutral by 2030 and here we identified opportunities to create large biogenic carbon sinks to compensate for the emissions that cannot be avoided. The biggest impact would be a shift to renewable building materials when meeting the need for new construction. The second largest area for rapid and highly persistent carbon sinks is the large-scale use of biochar in the municipality's agriculture.
In a concrete and simple way, Örjan Svane, professor emeritus at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, describes the gap between efforts and climate targets and what can be done to bridge it. His starting point is the transition work in Hammarby sjöstad, Stockholm, run by the local association ElectriCITY. The text was first published on the Viable Cities blog in May 2021.
Drained wetlands will be rewetted to reduce carbon emissions from peat soils. Intercropping and new cultivation methods will increase the amount of carbon in agricultural land. These are two projects run by Kristianstad Municipality to reduce its climate impact.
The climate transition in Sweden is now taking a big step forward. Lund Municipality and the City of Stockholm have been granted funding to develop a powerful tool for the transition to climate-neutral cities.
The local transformation journey must happen at a rapid pace in cities and communities across the planet. Last week, Lars Johansson, Viable Cities change leader, was in Washington DC, USA, to do just that. How can strengthened cooperation between Sweden and the US contribute to the mission of Climate Neutral Cities 2030 with a good life for all within the planet's borders?
Within Viable Cities, today, in 2023, a growing number of cities are mobilizing together with a wide range of stakeholders to accelerate the local transition journey to climate-neutral and sustainable communities. The mobilization is happening at several levels simultaneously - local, regional, national and international. But how did it start?
Halved electricity consumption, the opportunity for district heating to contribute with negative emissions and a citizens' assembly - a lot is happening in Örebro! Last week, the Viable Cities program office visited the Climate Neutral Örebro kick-off.
We are organizing 2 sessions, and partnering for a day at the Sustainability Arena at Teaterskeppet. We look forward to the sessions that have broad representation from political leaders in cities, key actors from national government agencies, the European Commission and our sister program in Spain CitiES2030. Together we accelerate the transition to Climate Neutral Cities 2030!
New report on the role of cities in the climate transition and a new emerging model to lead, manage and implement the transition faster than today, collectively known as 'governance'.
Vinnova notes, in its business environment analysis, that cities are of decisive importance for the world's climate-impacting emissions and that purposeful investments are required to achieve major effects on the climate transition.
The performance Is my microphone on? is inspired by the speech given by climate activist Greta Thunberg on April 23, 2019. The performance is written for an adult audience and is performed by youth ensembles around Sweden. It depicts young people's concerns, fears and frustrations, and connects to how we now need to speed up the transition to climate-neutral cities by 2030.
This week, the Viable Cities program management has met with the municipal executive committee, managers and colleagues in Kristianstad municipality and several other actors in and outside the municipality to look forward together. What does a climate-neutral Kristianstad look like in 2030? How do we get there? In which areas does the work need to be sharpened? Who needs to be mobilized in order for us to move forward faster?
Mikael Sanfridson, Mayor of Linköping, talks about Linköping's climate work during the year and how the municipality will increase its ambitions and the pace of climate change in the future. The film is recorded before European Viable Cities Day 2022 where 23 Swedish cities in the Viable Cities initiative Climate Neutral Cities 2030, of which Linköping is one of them, sign the 2022 Climate City Contract 2030.
Lena Lagestam, Chairman of the Board of Borlänge Energi, talks about Borlänge's climate work during the year and how the municipality will increase its ambitions and the pace of climate change in the future. The film is recorded before European Viable Cities Day 2022 where 23 Swedish cities in the Viable Cities initiative Climate Neutral Cities 2030, of which Borlänge is one of them, sign the 2022 Climate City Contract 2030.
Anders Almgen, Chairman in the municipal board in Lund, talks about Lund's climate work during the year and how the municipality will increase its ambitions and the pace of climate change in the future. The film is made ahead of European Viable Cities Day 2022, where 23 Swedish cities in the Viable Cities initiative Climate Neutral Cities 2030, of which Lund is one, sign the 2022 Climate City Contract 2030.
All Climate Neutral Cities 2030 actions involve businesses together with academia, public organisations and civil society. The municipal sphere has only partial control over the measures that need to be implemented, so business efforts and investments are crucial.
In all 23 cities that are part of Viable Cities' Climate Neutral Cities 2030 program, intensive work is underway with citizen engagement where they experiment with different forms. For more than a year now, Gothenburg has hosted Götepod, where city architect Björn Siesjö talks to guests about Gothenburg's urban development from different perspectives. In episode 18, he was visited by Karin Bjerner, Development Manager at the Environmental Administration, City of Gothenburg and Viable Cities Learning Strategist Lena Holmberg.
The transition to become climate neutral 2030 requires that cities work in new ways. In this climate breakfast we explore how the cities of Valencia and Stockholm have handled this challenge in terms of leadership, organization and capacity building. We also learn more about new tools such as portfolio management and the role of intermediary organizations such as citiES 2030 in Spain and Viable Cities in Sweden, for supporting this development.
Over 60 participants from all 23 cities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 program came together for a climate literacy workshop for municipal officials and politicians. We have now gathered all the external resources from our partnerships that are available for free on this issue.
Gävle, Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Lund, Malmö, Stockholm and Umeå. These are the Swedish municipalities that are now part of the EU's mission for climate-neutral cities in 2030 - Cities Mission. A total of 100 cities have been selected out of 377 applicants. And seven of them are Swedish cities.
Achieving the mission of climate-neutral cities by 2030 requires a transformation of the entire social system. We need to work in completely new ways and find solutions that include all dimensions that affect our lives: from regulatory frameworks and business models to the behavior of all citizens. Vinnova, Viable Cities and several cities are now developing a new tool to achieve this - system demonstrators. Anna Gemzell from Umeå Municipality believes the tool can make a difference.
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 Palladium in Borlänge for joint learning. - "There is great value in developing existing and finding new forms of cooperation between the cities when the climate work is accelerated," says Evelina Loberg, project manager in Gävle municipality.
Viable Cities is growing and now welcomes Maria Tengvard, Lars Johansson and Karin Linnea Petrusson to the program office. They bring more muscle to our joint work towards the mission of climate-neutral and sustainable cities by 2030.
This breakfast is hosted by our program manager Olga Kordas, who develops the thoughts about Climate City Contract 2030's innermost essence, and by Henrik Johansson from Växjö municipality and Charlotte Brynielsson from Kalmar municipality. Both municipalities are part of the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative and will talk about the value of Climate City Contract, the iterative process, what they have achieved and their plans for the future. Welcome to the Viable Cities Climate Breakfast 2022!
The European Commission has now published the list of all European cities that want to participate in the mission 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. From Sweden, 13 cities have applied, all of which are part of the Viable Cities initiative Climate Neutral Cities 2030.
On Wednesday, a milestone event for the European climate transition in cities took place. For the first time, representatives from Swedish and Spanish cities met to exchange experiences on how to speed up the transition to climate neutral and sustainable cities through Climate City Contract.
Yesterday, the call for expressions of interest to become one of the 100 cities in Horizon Europe's Mission 100 Climate Neutral Cities closed. In total, 377 cities have submitted an application, representing 18% of the EU population. However, the countries from which the applications come are not specified.
Mariestad is one of the smaller municipalities in the Climate Neutral Cities 2030 initiative. On our blog, they tell how the municipality is successfully testing hydrogen as a climate-neutral energy source, both for vehicles and to create a climate-neutral preschool.
In Uppsala municipality, they have explored how to create a roadmap with concrete proposals for action based on the goal of climate neutrality. Martin Wetterstedt, climate target researcher at Uppsala University and deputy project manager for the Uppsala Climate Roadmap, explains how they went about it on our blog.
Climate City Contract 2030 is revised every year, evolving and sharpening every year to accelerate the transition to climate-neutral, sustainable cities. The first version was signed in December 2020 by nine cities, four government agencies and the Viable Cities program. On 8 December...
23 cities and five government agencies are now working with Climate City Contract 2030 as a tool to achieve the mission - climate neutral and sustainable cities by 2030. During the European Viable Cities Day 2021, the work was manifested with a signing ceremony. European guests and representatives from all 23 cities and five government agencies shared how we can accelerate the climate transition together.
