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00:00Hi everyone, my name is Eugenia Monsutti, I am Senior Policy and Projects Coordinator at Eurocities
00:10and I'm coordinating the work with new cities joining the Cities Mission platform that is
00:15supporting the 112 mission cities becoming climate neutral by 2030. So today I'm going to give you a
00:22short presentation of the 100 climate neutral and smart cities mission, give you an understanding
00:28on how cities that are not yet part of the mission so not part of those 112 can take part and you're
00:35going to learn about the support that the mission platform currently managed by the netzero cities
00:39project will offer to cities going forward. So I will start with a presentation of the mission
00:48explaining who can join this new program that we are building and then how we are planning to expand
00:55the mission platform support services with activities that will be online focused on learning
01:00will be between peers at the EU level and between peers at the national level. So we are on a mission
01:07what does it mean? The European Commission has launched the mission for 100 climate neutral
01:12and smart cities by 2030 in the last mandate with the objective to achieve 100 and in this case more
01:21because there are also cities from associated countries not part of the European Union so 112
01:25climate neutral and smart European cities by 2030 and to ensure that these cities can act as
01:32experimentation and innovation hubs to help all other cities in Europe to follow suit to be inspired by
01:37these innovative approaches and new ways of working that the selected cities are piloting. And all this work
01:44that has been launched and it is supported by the European Commission it is managed by a project that is
01:51called netzero cities with the mission platform which is the support structure for the work of these
01:59112 cities that is providing cities with world class expertise and services that are tailored to their needs
02:05to achieve this very very ambitious goal of climate neutrality in 2030.
02:10The way the mission cities so the 112 mission cities are doing that is through a series of
02:20deep transformation in the way the municipality works and in the way the municipality works
02:25with the other levels of governance and the other stakeholders in the city.
02:29So they do that with setting up a transition team that works cross-captain between the different city departs.
02:35They have city advisors that provide them support expertise and really tailored guidance they follow
02:42specific steps. This climate transition map that I'll go back to in a moment which is basically
02:48the blueprint for reaching climate neutrality. They can access city learning programs to deepen their
02:56knowledge on specific topics linked to climate neutrality both on the governance aspects or on the
03:02innovation technology aspects. There is a portal an online portal that is available for them to
03:09exchange with others and to access all this wealth of resources and then the real key of all this work
03:15is the climate city contract that you see here on the slide in this road to climate neutrality which is
03:22the planning document of the municipality and it lays down the actions the resources the timeline for
03:28achieving climate neutrality by 2030 and it's accompanied by an action plan and an investment plan.
03:35And what is very important about the climate city contract is that it is a contract is not just signed
03:39by the municipality but is also signed by the other actors that in the city contribute to this work
03:45that includes businesses, privates, universities, academia, citizens, organized civil society and so on.
03:54And then they can benefit from pilot projects so this pilot city program that is financing specific projects
04:02in cities, a training program to put them in contact with other cities in Europe with a mutual exchange
04:09of knowledge and good practices and a capital hub that is helping those cities to connect with the public
04:18and especially private financing based on this investment plan that they're building.
04:24But going actually beyond the 112 we said it one second ago, the mission is not only about delivering
04:32100 climate neutral and smart cities by 2030, it's also about making sure that these cities can help
04:37others to follow suit by 2050. 2050 is the target year that in the European grand deal the commission
04:44established for reaching climate neutrality for the whole European continent. So what is very
04:51important is actually that we are able to capitalize on the tremendous transformations and the enormous work
04:57that these 112 cities are doing and to try to make sure that other cities can learn from the approaches
05:05that are implemented. And when we talk about the mission approach, we identified three key elements
05:12to summarize it in a in a more comprehensible way. So the first key element of the mission approach is
05:19the climate transition map, which is a systemic transition pathway for reaching climate neutrality
05:25in such a short time, it's not possible to stick to the old ways of doing things and working in silos
05:32or like sector to sector domain by domain. So this climate transition map is something that has been developed
05:39for the 112 mission cities to really create a pathway, a road towards climate neutrality for them with a
05:48journey that is inclusive, that is iterative, where there is lots of co-creation and testing and where
05:54cities are allowed to also experiment. So what you see here are the seven steps, seven core elements of the
06:01transition. And cities can be at different steps at the same time. So this is something that is really one of the key core
06:10elements of the mission approach, and that we are opening up to none to other cities, to cities that are not yet part of the
06:18mission platform to learn from. A second core element is the deep collaboration. So deep collaboration, it's about really
06:27coordinated action of multiple actors across sectors. So that includes what needs to be done within the city
06:35administration with the setting up of a transition team, with the setting up of all the structures in the
06:41municipality to make sure that the different sectors of the administration work together in an integrated
06:47way, but also with other actors in the local ecosystem. So here in this slide you can see local private actors, public
06:55agencies, civil society actors, city governments, of course, different like also utilities of the
07:04municipality should collaborate to that, the academia and the research institutions, and having so the
07:15the cooperation actually with all these actors also outside of the municipality needs, as we were saying,
07:22this transition team, so this central point of coordination within the municipality to orchestrate
07:27the process. And then the third element that we identified as the key for the mission approach
07:34is the working with portfolios of actions. So really to act on systemic barriers that address simultaneously
07:43several levels of change. So here you see on this slide an example of net zero mobility. What is really
07:50important to to see here is that the emission approach is really about identifying the trade-offs
07:55and co-benefits of climate action in the short and in the longer term and integrating the portfolio
08:01of actions in a way that we are able to estimate actually the contribution of all the different
08:07sectors to the wider objective of climate neutrality and not working in silos. And as soon as you start
08:12taking this portfolio approach, you realize that actually there are way more co-benefits and links between
08:18different actions that you would have imagined in the first time. And so this work that we are starting
08:28with cities that are not yet part of the mission is really open. So this work of opening up the mission
08:34approach and enabling learning from what's been developed by the 112 mission cities is really open to
08:42any cities wanting to learn and to embark on a journey towards climate neutrality. At any stage they are in
08:49their current journey so it will also be open of course to cities that for example have not yet even
08:53started monitoring their greenhouse emissions. And then depending on their climate commitment so for
09:00example if they already have a climate neutrality target by 2050 they will have access to different
09:06levels of support and we will get back to that in a second. And this will be done by the opening and
09:11training on tools and resources and approaches developed by mission cities that will include
09:15this climate transition map we were mentioning and we will also have exclusive peer learning
09:20opportunities. So site visits, twinnings, learning courses but also engagement at the national level
09:27with peers from the same national ecosystems. And so yes indeed this will be done with a mix of online
09:32and in-person learning activities that will start with the use of the Net Zero Cities portal,
09:39so this online platform and including online groups, study visits, twinnings and disengagement at the
09:44national and regional level. So the work we are doing to expand the mission platform support services
09:51will be made mainly of three components online and learning, peer engagement at the EU level and peer
09:58engagement at the national level. Our starting point is really that we want the mission platform to be an
10:04accelerator of climate action for all cities wanting to becoming climate neutral in Europe. So when it
10:11comes to the online learning we are working with training for new cities on planning and financing tools,
10:21support pathways, inspiring examples from mission cities and organizing workshops and courses
10:27that can also give academic credits. That's something that we are developing a bit later in the program
10:34for cities wanting to join. There will be three programs for engagement between peers at the EU level,
10:41so online peer discussion groups that will then lead to study visits in person in the mission cities and
10:48twinnings between mission cities and other cities. And then at the national level there will be
10:55organization of events in the countries where mission cities are located. So we work on a work plan,
11:05country by country, linking really the work that cities are doing with the wider climate neutrality
11:10objectives, to also create spaces for debate and training, including events that can be at the
11:17political level and also technical level, mobilizing national stakeholders such as ministries and
11:22national agencies and working with national platforms. And there is also a dedicated help desk for
11:30cities wanting to engage in this program that is always available.
11:33So when we go to the online learning here, I just have a few slides with some examples. One of the things
11:41that you have developed are climate neutrality support pathways. So it's a curated list of resources and
11:47tools that can be useful for cities wanting to engage in this process that address the needs that were
11:54highlighted by cities when we started this program and will be kept updated with new opportunities.
12:01And so these support pathways will really point cities to the right resources given the challenges
12:07that they're experiencing in their path towards climate neutrality using the climate transition map as
12:14a blueprint for that. Those are the topics of those support pathways and they're already online on the
12:20Nansero cities portal since a couple of weeks ago. Then we have tools that have been developed to help
12:32mission cities that we are now making available and actually providing more training on how to use them
12:40for new cities. The finance guidance tool that has cities to identify finance options and support investment
12:48planning, answering to a sort of questionnaire. So if a city has a project idea, they can run it through
12:55the tool and find some hints on where to find appropriate funding for or financing for that specific
13:03project idea. And we are organizing trainings for cities on how to use the tool. Another one is the
13:09Net Zero Planner, also a very interesting one that is already online, but we want to organize specific
13:15trainings actually for cities on how to use it. It was used already by around 50, maybe a bit less,
13:22mission cities. And it's an online cost benefit analysis tool, which helps cities to create,
13:27improve and track their climate action plan. It gives an analysis of the decarbonisation subsectors.
13:34It helps to monetize co-benefits, especially health improvements, turning those benefits into
13:41financial gains. And something that is very interesting for cities in the moment when they will be
13:48developing their climate action plan or revising their climate action plan is that it can help to test
13:53different scenarios and ambition levels. So providing also flexibility to plan for future challenges.
14:01Then when it comes to the peer and EU engagement, we have launched online discussion groups with mission cities that are focused on concrete challenges and domains. Cities have applied to
14:10to participate in these discussion groups. But don't worry, because the first group has started, but there will be two others going forward in the future.
14:20And so if you're interested, you didn't miss the train. And they will be leading to study visits to mission cities for cities that already have a climate neutrality target.
14:30And then we will have a new twinning learning program for 30 cities that will be focused on deep learning from mission cities over a longer period of time.
14:39So there will be study visits, but also really in-depth exchanges between experts and city officers in the two cities' administrations
14:49on specific topics and strategies. So they can be also linked to,
14:54they can be also useful actually for cities that are not part of the mission to get inspired.
15:00For example, when they will have to revise their action plan, when they will have to increase
15:03their ambition to climate neutrality compared to their current commitments. Or maybe they already have
15:10a commitment that is signed by the mayor to becoming climate neutral by 2050 at the latest,
15:15which is a precondition for participating. And they want to understand how to do that in practice,
15:21so they can learn from successful approaches in mission cities in a more tailored and really
15:27one-on-one way. And then finally, the engagement at the national level.
15:34It's not surprising actually how important it is for cities and how dependent they are from the national
15:40level to be really considered in national policies, because of course the actions that are implemented at
15:48the local level inform national strategies. And the national level has a huge role in providing support
15:54and to give in the direction and the right regulatory impulse for changes to happen also at the local
16:00level. So in recognition of this crucial role of national governments in climate neutrality,
16:06we have a full range of activities that will take place at the national level with upscaling of
16:12successful learning approaches, try to involve cities in the design and implementation of national
16:17policies and also to support cities in creating alliances with different actors at the national level,
16:22including industry, academia, agencies, but also to connect among themselves in their national
16:28ecosystem, in their national language. And so what we are going to do will be to organize national
16:33events with the involvement of mission cities and other cities in Europe and the associated countries,
16:40creating opportunities for dedicated technical assistance, organizing awareness raising events with
16:46national policymakers and enabling cities to participate into existing national platforms. And there is also
16:53a European project that is called Capacities, you see here in the slide just a snapshot, that is also
17:00supporting cities to go towards climate neutrality with a very strong national component. So we also have a very close
17:10collaboration with this project as part of the work that we're doing on the mission platform.
17:16To conclude, I add here my contacts, if you want to get in touch about any of these opportunities, and we also have a dedicated
17:24help desk for cities at infocities at netzerocities.u. So for cities that are not part of the mission yet,
17:30but would like to engage with us in becoming climate neutral by 2050. Thank you.
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