Brussels: Europe and the Arabs.
The European Commission in Brussels said in a statement today, Wednesday, that it will establish a new capital city center for the climate city, an international financing resource to further support cities participating in the European Union’s mission on climate-neutral and smart cities.
Thanks to the new center, these cities will be able to:
Access to financial advice in cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) Advisory Services;
Organize their financial needs so they understand the different ways to finance projects, including pooling projects; And
Present projects to a range of capital providers, including public and private lenders and investors (such as philanthropic and institutional capital, as well as innovative financing such as crowdfunding and sustainability-linked bonds), and support the deal closing process.
Complementing the services of the European Investment Bank, the Climate Capital City Center will be established with the support of both the EU Delegation on Smart and Climate Neutral Cities and the EU Climate Change Adaptation Mission. Its particular focus will be on engaging with private capital. For cities that have signed the Climate Adaptation Mission Charter and received the EU Cities Mission label, services will cover mitigation and adaptation projects, taking a comprehensive approach to tackling climate change.
The center will be operated through the Commission's Cities Mission Implementation Platform, currently managed by the NetZeroCities project. The committee announced its creation at the Cities Mission 2024 conference held in Valencia on June 25-26.
In addition, the EIB has allocated a lending envelope of €2 billion dedicated to cities marked with the Cities Mission to support their plans to invest in energy, efficient buildings, district heating systems, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, urban regeneration and water. and social infrastructure. It strengthens the European Investment Bank's support for designated cities and adds dedicated financing facilities for advisory services.
So far, 33 cities have received the EU Mission Label for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities: 10 in October 2023 and 23 in March 2024. This label is an important milestone in the work of cities. It acknowledges the successful development of the City Climate Contracts, which outline cities' comprehensive vision for climate neutrality and contain an action plan as well as an investment plan. Cities co-create their own climate city contracts with local stakeholders including the private sector and citizens. Of the 33 investment plans presented so far, nearly €114.1 billion has been allocated to climate action – an average of €3.6 billion per city. The Commission is currently reviewing a further 23 climate city contracts.
In parallel, the EU Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities has collected more than 200 solutions that will help cities on their way to climate neutrality. Solutions cover A – “Advanced Regeneration Support” to Z – “Zero Emission Buses” and can be found in the Knowledge Repository.
Cities account for more than 70% of global carbon dioxide emissions and consume more than 65% of the world's energy. Urban action is crucial to mitigating climate change and can contribute significantly to accelerating efforts to achieve the legally binding commitment to achieve climate neutrality in the EU as a whole by 2050, in addition to the EU target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55%. . By 2030 and, more generally, the implementation of the European Green Deal. The EU Cities Mission aims to help European cities become climate neutral, providing cleaner air, safer transport and reduced congestion and noise for their citizens.
In April 2022, 100 cities in the European Union and 12 cities in countries associated with Horizon Europe, the European Union's research and innovation programme, were selected to participate in the mission. They are testing innovative multi-sector approaches including citizen engagement, stakeholder management and internal governance to accelerate their path to climate neutrality. This makes them centers of experimentation and innovation to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050.