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It may seem like a dream for cities to reduce emissions to zero, but 100 EU cities have promised to do so by the end of the decade.
As part of the European Commission’s 100 Climate Neutral and Smart City Schemes launched on Thursday, these cities have promised to dramatically reduce emissions by 2030, and the EU will meet its goals. Get help.
With more than 370 applications for this initiative, cities were selected based on the strength of the plan and the enthusiasm for achieving the goals. Twelve non-EU cities, including Glasgow, Sarajevo and Istanbul, were also selected to participate.
“Cities are at the forefront of the fight against the climate crisis,” said Frans Timmermans, chief of the EU Green Deal. “Cities are the hub of change that Europe needs to make a successful transition to climate neutrality, including greening urban spaces, tackling air pollution, reducing energy consumption in buildings, and promoting clean mobility solutions.”
Globally, urban areas account for more than 70% of CO2 emissions, and a major report from the United Nations Climate Science Panel released earlier this month achieved the goals of the Paris Agreement and a catastrophic climate. We have discovered that urban methods need to be changed to avoid fluctuations. Designed, built and managed. “
Matthew Baldwin, deputy director of the mobility and transportation sector of the planning committee, told POLITICO that the city’s green ambitions, international membership and scale have become “obvious places” to tackle climate change. rice field.
As part of the program, 112 participating cities with approximately 75 million people will create a “Climate City Contract” that sets out the actions and investment plans they will take to achieve climate neutrality.
The plan is not legally binding, but Mr Baldwin said the city has strong incentives to reach its goals.
The list includes cities with a proven track record of promoting ambitious climate goals, such as Copenhagen and Gothenburg, and cities that have recently taken on challenges, such as Paris and Milan. Cities in countries that are struggling to combat climate change, such as Lodz, Poland and Budapest, have also been reduced.
A consortium of 34 climate change organizations, as well as national and EU level experts, will help cities create contracts. The contract can receive a so-called mission label from the committee. According to Baldwin, this label facilitates access to “capital from private finance, tired of greenwashing projects and seeking real initiative to invest.”
He emphasizes that the plan is designed to be “bottom-up” and aims to help cities determine their own route to climate-neutral and exchange best practices with other participants. bottom.
“This is not a long finger that the Commission looks down on and tells the city what to do,” he said. “Instead, we encourage cities to design appropriate plans. What works in Gothenburg is a little different from what works in Istanbul.”
The leaders of the selected cities celebrated their participation in the program on Thursday.
Matteo Lepore, Mayor of Bologna, promised that the city would reach its 2030 goal and “began to work with all citizens on this.” “Participating in this mission and getting support from many other cities across Europe will help in this effort,” he added.
Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisbon, said Portugal’s capital is “very proud to be one of the 100 carbon-neutral cities by 2030, and one-third of its total budget is this initiative. We plan to invest in specific measures related to.
“Cities are the platforms that can do that,” he added.
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