NetZeroCities

NetZeroCities is part of the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme in support of  European Union’s Green Deal. NetZeroCities has been designed to help cities overcome the current structural, institutional and cultural barriers they face in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.

NetZeroCities supports the EU’s Mission of “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030” newly-launched as part of the Horizon Europe programme. The project works as a service-oriented platform supported by world-class practitioners. It helps European cities by providing them with the support and solutions they need to achieve their Net Zero goal in a socially inclusive way.

New and existing tools, resources and expertise are developed and promoted into a one-stop platform accessible to all cities through an online portal. Dedicated services are designed to support cities that are part of the EU’s Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”. In addition, NetZeroCities supports a series of Pilots to help drive rapid learning about how to achieve climate neutrality at city scale, and will run a Twinning programme to enable peer-learning.

Cities have a leading role to play, not just in meeting the climate goals and targets set out by international policy frameworks such as the COP21 Paris Agreement, but in ensuring our decarbonisation efforts are equitable and contribute to the well-being of European communities.

Cities take up only 4% of the EU’s land area, but they are home to 75% of EU citizens.

Cities consume over 65% of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions.

Achieving zero carbon in an inclusive way will be an extraordinary undertaking for each and every city. This will require profound and systemic changes. Government leadership will be critical, and actions by industry, education and research institutions, and civic organisations must align in terms of policies, governance, and the needed capital investments.

NetZeroCities recognises the need for cities to develop specific strategies that are tailored to suit local and regional contexts, and supports them by developing and promoting new and existing tools, resources, and expertise into a One-Stop-Shop platform accessible to all cities through an online portal and hands-on support through several programmes.