All nine ENLIGHT cities applied – "EU Mission Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities"
On 25 November 2021, the Commission launched a Call for Expression of Interest addressed to cities to join the European Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities.
377 cities from all over Europe have expressed their interests. With Bratislava, Bordeaux, Galway, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Ghent, Göttingen, Groningen, Tartu, and Uppsala all nine ENLIGHT cities have applied, which shows the strong commitment of ENLIGHT and their partners to tackle climate change.
In two sessions on “Communities and Universities: Sharing the journey to shape the future” (Part 1 and Part 2), the nine universities discussed with the representatives of the cities and regions which climate neutrality goals and measures are envisaged and which synergies could be taken advantage of in ENLIGHT.
The universities have also made a strong statement by signing the ENLIGHT Sustainability Engagement. With this, the ENLIGHT-members want to be key contributors of sustainable development and to take the lead with concrete actions in the areas of governance, education and research.
European Commission has decided to make the names of those applying cities public that have been found eligible and have expressly agreed to the publication of their name. These are available here. The evaluation of the applications has already started. The results will be announced by April 2022.
The EU Mission aims to create 100 climate neutral and smart European cities by 2030 and to ensure that these cities act as centres of experimentation and innovation so that all European cities can follow suit by 2050. By participating in the mission, selected cities will be at the leading edge of innovation and the transition to climate neutrality, as part of the European Green Deal.