Three Danish cities amongst European trailblazers to achieve climate neutrality by 2030

Selected for EU’s new Cities Mission, Copenhagen, Aarhus and Sønderborg are amongst 100 urban trail-blazers aiming for climate neutrality by 2030.

By Magnus Højberg Mernild | [email protected]

29 April 2022

Denmark is well represented in a new EU mission for climate neutral cities by 2030. Both Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Sønderborg have been selected to participate.

The programme includes a total of 100 European cities from across all 27 EU Member States. According to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, the selected 100 cities are going to be trailblazers of green transition:

“The green transition is making its way all over Europe right now. But there’s always a need for trailblazers, who set themselves even higher goals. These cities are showing us the way to a healthier future”.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, also highlighted the role of the selected cities in speeding up Europe’s transition to climate neutrality and to deliver benefits such as cleaner air and lower energy bills for our citizens:

“It is great that so many cities will participate. We can support their ambition with our EU research and innovation budget. The Cities Mission has the potential to make a major contribution to our Green Deal and for Europe to become a climate neutral continent by 2050.”

The selected cities will collectively receive approximately €360 million in EU-funding 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.

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Copenhagen

Both Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Sønderborg have been selected to participate in a new EU mission for climate neutral cities by 2030

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Sønderborg

Both Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Sønderborg have been selected to participate in a new EU mission for climate neutral cities by 2030

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Aarhus

Both Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Sønderborg have been selected to participate in a new EU mission for climate neutral cities by 2030

Besides the three Danish cities, major capitals such as Paris, Madrid, and Rome have also been selected to participate in the mission. In total, 377 cities applied to be part of the programme. To meet the broad interest, The EU-commission is now seeking out opportunities to extend their support through other means.

Today, approximately 75% of EU-citizen live in urban areas. Globally, urban areas account for 70% of CO2-emmision. Thus, if large cities manage to find successful pathways to climate neutrality, it could be immensely impactful. The overall goal of the EU is to reach climate neutrality by 2050. This entails bringing down greenhouse gas emissions with at least 55% before 2030.

In comparison, Denmark targets a 70% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.