11 March 2021

On 24 February 2021, the European Commission launched its Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change to foster “local, individual and just resilience.” The strategy identified cities as crucial actors to directly tackle climate change, especially by relying on technology.

The Strategy explicitly mentioned the Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) as one of the existing European Commission initiatives that will deliver the Commission’s promises to support “the local uptake of data, digital and smart solutions related to climate adaptation tailored to local and regional specificities”.

In the EU, nearly 73% of the population live in urban areas and can play an important role in combatting climate change. Cities can contribute an astounding 50% of the reduction required to reach net-zero emissions. The ICC is happy to see the European Commission attaches as much importance to the roles cities can play in fulfilling these goals as we do.

More information available here.