NEUTRALPATH launches a capacity-building programme in September 2024 for five cities, focusing on energy, mobility, and built environment.
NEUTRALPATH capacity building for local authorities
The capacity building programme of NEUTRALPATH, led by Eurocities, will start in September 2024 and will focus on upskilling the five partner cities – Zaragoza, Dresden, Ghent, Vantaa, and Istanbul. The programme will support the cities in designing and implementing Positive and Clean Energy Districts (PCEDs) and achieving climate neutrality.
City profiles: a look into cities expertise and main needs
NEUTRALPATH conducted a needs assessment of the public authorities in the cities involved in the project through questionnaires and interviews, resulting in the following profiles for each city.
The city profile highlights the capacity of the five partner municipalities to implement climate neutral solutions in three main sectors: energy, mobility and built environment sectors. It also addresses four key integration areas: governance, finance, social innovation and implementation and technology.
“The needs assessment with the five NEUTRALPATH cities is crucial for designing an effective capacity-building programme. It offers a comprehensive view of each city’s context, challenges, and opportunities. By identifying common barriers, the programme delivers tailored support while aligning with European expertise in key cross-cutting areas for upskilling public administrations” clarify Stefania Mascolo, Project Coordinator at EUROCITIES.
NEUTRALPATH and NetZeroCities: joining forces for climate neutrality
Three cities participating in NEUTRALPATH – Zaragoza, Dresden, and Istanbul – are part of the cities selected to participate in the EU Mission for climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, also known as the Cities Mission. Two of the NEUTRALPATH fellow cities – Ghent, Vantaa – are committed to the mission goal.
Eugenia Mansutti, Senior Project Coordinator at NetZeroCities, explains that “many cities are aiming to go climate neutral by 2030 as part of the Cities Mission. Others aim to do this by 2050 at the latest, often going through the Covenant of Mayors. These cities have plans and measures in place to slash their emissions and drive the energy transition in Europe. Projects such as NEUTRALPATH enable other European cities to learn how to decarbonise their energy systems, renovate buildings and foster sustainable mobility. All this will be pivotal to rolling out similar approaches elsewhere in Europe”.
NEUTRALPATH aims to be a platform whose insights will be useful for all cities embarking on the transformation needed for a climate-neutral future. To this end, Eurocities has strategically aligned NEUTRALPATH’s capacity-building programme with NetZeroCities’ levers of change and the Cities Mission. This alignment aims to build a coherent stream of action between the skills needed from the five participant cities.
“NEUTRALPATH and NetZeroCities exemplify the collaborative spirit driving European cities toward climate neutrality. Through NEUTRALPATH, cities like Zaragoza engage in pioneering practices, drawing on NetZeroCities’ levers of change to increase the impact of their City Climate Contract. By aligning capacity-building with broader innovative frameworks, cities are better equipped to navigate their unique paths while contributing to a collective vision, ensuring that every stride towards climate neutrality is a step towards the overarching goals of the European Green Deal”, added Gabriela Uchoa, City Advisor at NetZeroCities.
The city profiles are published via various platforms including the NEUTRALPATH website and social media channels, the NetZeroCities Portal, the Scalable Cities newsletter and the Eurocities collaboration space (200+ European cities).
Image credits: Ildigo from Pixabay
