EU Mission on
Climate Neutral and Smart Cities
100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. Ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to put all European cities in a position to become climate-neutral by 2050.
Cities play a pivotal role in achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the goal of the European Green Deal. They take up only 4% of the EU’s land area, but they are home to 75% of EU citizens. Furthermore, cities consume over 65% of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions.
Since climate mitigation is heavily dependent on urban action, we need to support cities in accelerating their green and digital transformation. European cities can substantially contribute to the Green Deal target of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030 and, in more practical terms, offer cleaner air, safer transport, and less congestion and noise to their citizens.
Aims of the Mission
The Cities Mission will involve local authorities, citizens, businesses, investors, as well as regional and national authorities to:
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Deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030
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Ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050
As foreseen in its implementation plan, the Cities Mission takes a cross-sectoral and demand-led approach, creating synergies between existing initiatives and basing its activities on the actual needs of cities.
The European Commission has adopted a set of proposals to make the EU's climate, energy, transport, and taxation policies fit for reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. This ambitious target is part of the broader effort under the European Green Deal, which also serves as a lifeline out of the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by a significant portion of the €1.8 trillion investments from the NextGenerationEU Recovery Plan and the EU’s seven-year budget.