Five cities in Spain received the honour, along with cities in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria and Romania.
ADVERTISEMENTTen European cities have been awarded for their plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.
The accolades, known as the Label of the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, were announced by the European Commission on Thursday.
Five cities in Spain received the honour, along with cities in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria and Romania.
The EU Mission Label aims to help cities get public and private funding for their climate goals.
Ten European cities awarded for climate neutrality goals
The European Commission announced on Thursday that the EU Mission Label has been awarded to Sønderborg (Denmark), Mannheim (Germany), Madrid, Valencia, Valladolid, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Zaragoza (Spain), Klagenfurt (Austria), Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Stockholm (Sweden).
The award represents the EU’s ‘seal of approval’ for their efforts to become smart cities free of polluting emissions.
It also recognises the cities’ action and investment plans, known as Climate City Contracts, to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 - 20 years earlier than the EU’s aim for the rest of Europe.
Cities that have received the EU Mission Label will be assisted with access to EU, national, and regional funding and financing sources, in particular private investment.
The ten cities are “paving the way for others to move faster towards a fair green and digital transition,” the European Commission wrote in a statement, “and they set an example for inclusive co-creation of policy at the local level.”
“They will act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050,” it added.
Stockholm, for example, has just announced it is banning petrol and diesel cars in its city centre to reduce pollution and slash emissions. The new rules will come into force on 31 December 2024.
Valencia, which is Europe’s Green Capital for 2024, began using street lamps to charge electric cars last year. The city’s Cabanyal area has also become a lab for energy efficiency with solar panels installed on the central market roof.
Madrid is working on creating Europe’s largest zero-emission urban development area where buildings will produce more energy than they consume and public transport will be emission-free.
Spain’s push to achieve climate goals
Half of the winners of the EU Mission Label awards were cities in Spain.
“This is the expression of the climate policies of Spain and the focus it puts on renewable sources,” said Maros Sefcovic, Vice-President of the European Commission.
“I see this as proof of high-quality management, strong policies at city level, decarbonisation and embracing climate-neutral technology.”
The award will help unlock additional investments coming to these cities because investors “know that the plans are good, realistic and have been certified by the best experts in the European Commission,” he added.
“Investors will have very good returns that lead to concrete results.”
