Radical collaboration: Spanish cities unite for climate neutrality journey

Spain’s CitiES 2030 platform is a model of radical collaboration amongst global environmental initiatives. Initially launched in 2020 among a few Spanish cities to reimagine their future amidst rising global temperatures, it has evolved into a comprehensive platform. It now includes 15 cities, 8 academic institutions, 17 private entities, and 7 public institutions, collaboratively working towards accelerating local climate action for decarbonisation and climate resiliency.

citiES 2030, officially launched in September 2022, is fully aligned with the European Commission’s “European Missions” and connected to the NetZeroCities programme under Horizon 2020. It was developed by EIT Climate-KIC and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, with support from the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge through the Fundación Biodiversidad. Its aim is to support Spanish cities in their transformation towards climate neutrality by 2030, leveraging collective intelligence and action from public and private sectors, academia, civil society, and citizens.

The citiES 2030 platform’s services are organized into three collaborative spaces: ‘Meeting’, facilitating dialogue and knowledge exchange; ‘Training’, aimed at preparing Climate City Contracts, a governance innovation tool that outlines the city Action Plan and Investments Plan, and enhancing capabilities; and ‘Implementation’, which concentrates on executing projects across multiple cities and stakeholders.

In the ‘Meeting’ space, collective action is driven through the Breakfast citiES 2030 sessions. These bi-monthly online meetings bring together stakeholders to discuss, learn, and exchange knowledge on key themes such as urban regeneration, engagement of new actors, and climate employment strategies. The aim is to create an environment that encourages shared responsibility and collaborative problem-solving. Outcomes from these sessions are succinctly summarized in newsletters, often accompanied by infographics, making complex subjects more accessible and easier to comprehend.

This is followed by a training component focused on the European Cities Mission’s core principles, where they resolve doubts and share practical experience in mission-oriented strategies. Further strengthening cooperation, the platform hosted its annual Summer Course in July 2023, a key event for members to co-design citizen engagement and private sector strategies for Climate City Contracts. Additionally, in October and early November, Climathons focused on the challenge of urban heat islands were conducted in eight different cities, with a strong emphasis on sharing lessons learned and achievements across these urban centres.

In the ‘Training’ space, attention turns to the development of Climate City Contracts. This stage channels all previously acquired knowledge and insights into crafting climate-focused solutions and formalizing commitments. Cities receive detailed guidance on drafting these contracts, which serve as roadmaps for their climate action strategies. This space goes beyond just planning; it considers crucial elements such as innovative financing methods and engages a broad range of stakeholders, ensuring a holistic approach to sustainability.

At the end, lies the ‘Implementation’ space, where plans and strategies are put into action. This includes executing multi-city projects, fostering public-private partnerships, and mobilizing community involvement. A current example is the multi-city building retrofit initiative under the Energy Rehabilitation Programme. This project addresses the challenge of outdated and energy-inefficient buildings, a substantial source of emissions. The aim is to significantly increase the renovation rate of these buildings, revitalizing urban areas. To ensure effective implementation, it relies on the combined efforts of public, private, and social sectors, with active citizen involvement essential for both initiating and sustaining the project.

As of October 2023, citiES 2030 has seen notable achievements with seven cities — Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Valladolid, and Vitoria-Gasteiz — submitting their Climate City Contracts, the first European country to accomplish this. Five of these cities have already been awarded with the Mission Label from the European Commission for their climate commitments. Looking forward, the platform is set to broaden its impact with five additional cities. This expansion will bring the total to 20 cities, enhancing the initiative’s geographical diversity and representation. These steps mark both the progress made in bridging the gap between climate ambitions and current reality, and the path forward in the collective journey towards climate neutrality.

For those interested in joining this journey or seeking more information, you can reach out at citiES2030@climate-kic.org. 

EIT Climate-KIC will be at COP28 in Dubai, UAE, from November 30th to December 6h, to talk about how we support city, regional and national leaders to bridge the gap between climate goals commitments and current reality.

Join our COP28 side events (online and on-site) and learn more about our COP28 ambitions.

Subscribe to our mailing list if you’d like to receive more information about our activities at COP28.