The European Commission’s multi-sectoral Cities Mission programme recently awarded ten cities with the EU Mission Label for Climate-Neutral and Smart cities. Three of these cities are part of the current edition of the Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC). The ICC programme is proud to see these cities recognised.
In total, 100 EU cities participate in the EU Cities Mission as they work on their climate neutrality, testing innovative cross-sectoral approaches. Among these cities, 22 ICC (2020-22 edition) cities and 12 ICC (2023-25 edition) cities are also involved in Cities Mission. The two programmes complement each other and allow cities to dive deeper into their city’s green transition.
In October 2023, 3 ICC cities were awarded EU Mission Label:
- Cluj-Napoca (Romania),
- Zaragoza (Spain) and
- Mannheim (Germany).
In March 2024, 32 additional cities received the EU Mission Label, including 8 ICC cities:
- Espoo (Finland),
- Heidelberg (Germany),
- Kalamata (Greece),
- Kozani (Greece),
- Thessaloniki (Greece),
- Florence (Italy),
- Guimarães (Portugal) and
- Lisbon (Portugal).
They were awarded this label in recognition of their plans to achieve climate-neutrality already by 2030. The EU Mission Label is also an acknowledgement of the successful development of Climate City Contracts, outlining the cities’ overall vision on the topic of climate neutrality.
Receiving this award helps the ICC cities to support high ambition for their participation in the programme and serve as a quality label in all their climate neutrality plans. These cities also represent inspirational cases for all ICC cities seeking to advance their green and digital transition and should be consulted as best practices.
More information on the EU Mission and the EU Mission Label are available.