Page 30 - Guidelines for cities to achieve carbon Net Zero through digital transformation

• Renovating buildings for greener lifestyles. Renovating our homes and buildings will save
energy and tackle energy poverty.
• Working with nature to protect our planet and health. Nature is an important ally in the fight
against climate change.

• Boosting global climate action. We can only solve the global threat of climate change by working
with our international partners.

The initiative

The initiative “100 climate-neutral cities by 2030 - by and for the citizens” aims to support 100
European cities in their transformation to climate neutrality by 2030. It is an ambitious attempt, in
which cities pledge to be transformed for the benefit of Europe’s quality of life and sustainability.
It aims to promote system innovation across the value chain of city investment, targeting multiple
sectors such as governance, transport, energy, construction and recycling, with support from
digital technologies. The Mission demands the cooperation of citizens and organizations. The
transformation will be based on three principles: 1) a holistic approach to foster innovation and
deployment, 2) a matrix of integrated and multilevel governance and 3) a deep and continuous
collaboration between all stakeholders.

Its objectives include:

• Build a multilevel and co-creative process formalized in a Climate City Contract that, while
adjusted to the realities of each city, will aim at the shared goal of the mission.

• Promote citizens to become agents of change through bottom-up initiatives and innovation
and through new forms of governance.
• Help cities access the financial means to achieve the Mission through Horizon Europe, the
European Structural and Investment Funds, the Connecting Europe Facility, the Just Transition
Fund, the mechanism for Important Project of Common European Interest, InvestEU, the Next
Generation EU instrument and other EU funds.

• Foster a just transition, via the implementation of the United Nations Agenda 2030 and its
Sustainable Development Goals, to improve citizens’ health and wellbeing.
• Bring many co-benefits (e.g., improved air quality, job creation), healthier lifestyles, stimulating
the positive effects of new sustainable mobility concepts.

• Identify European, national, regional and local policy gaps, as well as R&I priorities to contribute
to the goals of the European Green Deal.
• Support the development of drivers of transition under five key enablers:

– A model for the transformation of cities to innovation hubs
– New forms of participative and innovative city governance

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