Cities in the EU Cities Mission, supported by the tools and guidance of NetZeroCities, are strengthening cooperation with businesses and local actors to advance climate neutrality across key urban sectors.
Cities across Europe are reassessing how to reach climate neutrality, acknowledging that municipal action alone cannot deliver the scale of change required. Progress increasingly depends on cooperation with businesses, utilities, investors, and employers, particularly in areas linked to energy use, buildings, and construction. This shift has led to new forms of collaboration in which public authorities and external actors jointly plan and implement measures to reduce emissions.
In Espoo, Finland, cooperation with private operators is central to local climate planning. Around 75 per cent of residents use a privately managed district‑heating network, requiring coordinated action. The city has also convened investors from several sectors to outline conditions for long‑term capital deployment, leading to a climate investment framework linking land‑use, permitting, and innovation with emissions‑reduction goals.
Bratislava directly influences only about 11 per cent of local emissions, prompting the creation of a shared climate scorecard through the Mayor’s Climate Challenge. Companies commit to measurable energy‑saving targets, including in large commercial and real estate buildings. Planned solar installations support 2030 renewable‑energy objectives, and the municipality facilitates investment by providing land for heat‑pump deployment where space is limited.
Efforts to address hard‑to‑abate sectors are advancing in several cities. In Oslo, the PURE project tests zero‑emission machinery on construction sites, supported by research bodies, utilities, and equipment suppliers. A Zero‑Emission Construction Forum brings together contractors and ministries, and new rules are being prepared for major sites to rely mainly on zero‑emission energy by 2030. In Czechia, Liberec is creating a legal entity to attract private and citizen investment for its first energy community.
Other municipalities are developing ways for companies to support community‑level climate action. Klagenfurt has set up a Climate Fund for local projects, while Vilnius is applying NGO‑style fundraising methods, including call‑centre campaigns and direct engagement with firms, to increase transparency and encourage business participation.
Similar initiatives are emerging elsewhere. In Malmö, energy companies, municipal firms, and residents are redesigning districts around low‑carbon heating and cooling. In Guimarães, more than 130 organisations have joined a Climate Pact that guides the city’s transition, reflecting a broader move towards shared responsibility across public authorities, companies, and communities.
Progress across these examples reflects a wider shift within the EU Cities Mission, supported by the learning and guidance provided through NetZeroCities. Municipalities and businesses are developing shared approaches to reduce emissions from buildings, energy systems, and hard‑to‑decarbonise sectors. Joint governance, coordinated investment, and integrated planning are becoming essential elements of local climate action, while long‑term financing and sustained cooperation remain key challenges for cities moving towards net‑zero emissions.
