Following the recent announcement of the selection of cities for the new edition of the Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC) that will run from 2023-25, a welcome meeting and Local Green Deals (LGD) session took place online on the 27 July.
Representatives from approximately 50 of the ICC cities and over 150 participants joined the interactive session. In their welcoming words, the European Commission highlighted the important role that these cities play in the EU as well as their key role in reducing the industrial dependency by implementing greener solutions and by adopting a circular economy.
Setting the Local Green Deals scene
Niklas Mischkowski, a representative from ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), a key partner in the ICC with expertise on Local Green Deals in Europe, outlined how the next edition of ICC will support the development of more strategic LGDs with an increased focus on industrial actors, clean tech and an improved training programme for cities.
Three practical examples were offered by cities across the EU: Mannheim (Germany), Valencia (Spain) and Amsterdam (Netherlands) who shared their stories of successful green initiatives taken recently. This included Mannheim’s 19 local green deal partnerships across multiple sectors and Valencia’s “ecosystem of innovation”. You can read more about their LGDs in this article here.
Hearing from the cities
The many participating city representatives were given the opportunity to raise their questions about the programme and LGDs. Cities were advised on how to overcome the difficulties with reaching and engaging business stakeholders and/or multilevel sectors of the administration. Concerns over the potential overlap with LGDs and work with other green initiatives such as Climate Pacts or EU Cities Mission were addressed, with assurances that they are seen as complementary and have a dedicated focus on the local ecosystem.
The floor was given to city representatives who were invited to present themselves and state their priorities and expectations for the ICC project. Through these presentations, several topics of relevance for the project emerged, this included:
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The importance of the digital transition, in particular the use of data for cities and the implementation of green and efficient solutions on energy-related issues.
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The opportunity to engage different stakeholders at local level.
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Reducing the carbon footprint.
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Funding occasions and support from the specialized experts.
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Development and implementation of their smart city strategy.
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The possibility to network and to increase EU and international cooperation with other cities.
A second Welcome and Local Green Deals session will be held on Wednesday 6 September 2023 from 09.00 to 13.00 CEST. All participating cities and those interested in the ICC programme are invited to join to learn more about the initiative and hear from new cities on LGDs. You can find the full details and registration information here.