The 100 cities come from all 27 Member States, with 12 additional cities coming from countries associated or with the potential of being associated with Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation programme (2021-2027).

"Our urban areas are home to 75% of EU citizens. Globally, urban areas consume over 65% of the world's energy, accounting for more than 70% of CO2 emissions. It is therefore important that cities act as experimentation and innovation ecosystems to help all others in their transition to become climate-neutral by 2050”, state the representatives of the European Commission.

Cities like Athens, Vilnius, Sofia, Barcelona, Paris, Zagreb, Porto, Milan, Munich, Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Helsinki, Bucharest, and other cities from countries associated with this project, like Istanbul, Eilat, Bristol or Oslo, are set to become carbon neutral in the next 8 years.

The 100 EU Cities chosen represent 12% of the EU population.

The Cities Mission will receive €360 million of Horizon Europe funding covering the period 2022-23, to start the innovation paths towards climate neutrality by 2030. The research and innovation actions will address clean mobility, energy efficiency and green urban planning, and offer the possibility to build joint initiatives and ramp up collaborations in synergies with other EU programmes.

From this point forward, the Commission will invite the 100 selected cities to develop Climate City Contracts, which will include an overall plan for climate neutrality across all sectors such as energy, buildings, waste management and transport, together with related investment plans.

This process will involve citizens, research organisations and the private sector. The clear and visible commitments made by the cities in the Climate City Contracts will enable them to engage with the EU, national and regional authorities – and most importantly with their own citizens to deliver on this ambitious objective.

You can find here the list of 100 European cities that have the mission to become climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030.