39 cities participating in the EU Mission for Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities under Horizon Europe have been awarded the EU Mission Label. This recognition highlights their ambitious plans to reach climate neutrality by 2030 and is designed to help them unlock public and private funding to support this goal.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said:
“Congratulations to the thirty-nine cities awarded the EU Mission Label today. You are leading the way toward climate neutrality and transforming ambition into delivery. By creating real demand for clean technologies, sustainable innovation, and green infrastructure, you are laying the foundations of Europe’s competitive, climate-neutral future. Your work inspires, drives market change, and puts people and communities at the heart of the transition.”
The 39 cities that received the label are: Antwerp (Belgium), Gabrovo, Sofia (Bulgaria), Liberec (Czechia), Aarhus, Copenhagen (Denmark), Dresden, Leipzig (Germany), Cork, Dublin (Ireland), Athens (Greece), Bordeaux Metropole, Dijon Metropole, Dunkerque, Grenoble-Alpes Metropole, Nantes Metropole, Paris (France), Padova (Italy), Riga (Latvia), Taurage, Vilnius (Lithuania), Budapest (Hungary), Krakow, Łódź, Rzeszow, Warsaw, Wrocław (Poland), Velenje (Slovenia), Košice (Slovakia), Helsinki (Finland), Helsingborg, Lund (Sweden), Reykjavík (Iceland), Oslo, Trondheim, Stavanger (Norway), Istanbul (Türkiye), and Bristol, Glasgow (United Kingdom).
The Mission Label was handed over to the selected cities at the Cities Mission Conference 2025, taking place in Vilnius.
Next steps
The EU continues to support the cities in their work on transforming their ambitious plans into a pipeline of projects. The Label gives cities access to the Climate City Capital Hub, an international finance resource, which was set up in June 2024. Its particular focus is on engagement with private capital. Cities also qualify for financial advisory support and a lending envelope of EUR 2 billion, put in place by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The Climate City Contracts of 11 additional cities are under review, while the remaining cities participating in the Mission are expected to submit their Climate City Contracts for review by the end of this year.
Background
Cities account for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions and consume over 65% of the world’s energy. Urban action is crucial for climate mitigation and can significantly accelerate efforts to achieve the EU’s legally binding commitment to climate neutrality by 2050, as well as the intermediate target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. The Cities Mission contributes to Europe’s clean and digital transition, aligning with the European Green Deal, the Policy Agenda for Cities, and the Clean Industrial Deal. It fosters Industry Dialogues, bringing cities and industries together to advance clean technologies, circular economy practices, and energy efficiency—offering cleaner air, safer transport, and less congestion and noise to citizens across Europe.
In April 2022, 100 cities in the EU and 12 cities in countries associated to Horizon Europe were selected. They are testing innovative cross-sectoral approaches, including for citizen engagement, stakeholder management and internal governance to accelerate their path to climate neutrality. By so doing, they will act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050.
The Mission’s central feature is “Climate City Contracts” (CCCs) which each participating city is developing and implementing. CCCs contain (1) a core commitments part, (2) a Climate Neutrality Action Plan and (3) a Climate Neutrality Investment Plan. They are co-created with citizens and stakeholders, with the help of a Mission Platform (run by the NetZeroCities project).
In total, 92 out of the 112 cities that participate in the Mission have by now received the label, with 39 awarded today, 10 awarded in October 2023, 23 in March 2024 and 20 in October 2024. The EU Mission Label is an important milestone in the cities’ work. It acknowledges successful development of Climate City Contracts, which outline the cities’ overall vision for climate neutrality and contain an action plan as well as an investment plan. Cities co-create their Climate City Contracts with local stakeholders including the private sector and citizens.
Climate City Contracts are reviewed by the Commission with the support of experts, including from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). Following a positive review, cities receive an EU Mission Label, which is intended to facilitate access to EU, national, and regional funding and financing sources, in particular private investment.
The first cities submitted their CCCs to the Commission in spring 2023. The following cities have received a label in previous rounds: The 1st batch in October 2023: Sønderborg (Denmark), Mannheim (Germany), Madrid, Valencia, Valladolid, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Zaragoza (Spain), Klagenfurt (Austria), Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Stockholm (Sweden). The 2nd batch in March 2024 with Ioannina, Kalamata, Kozani, Thessaloniki (Greece), Heidelberg (Germany), Leuven (Belgium), Espoo, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Tampere, Turku (Finland), Barcelona, Seville (Spain), Pecs (Hungary), Malmö (Sweden), Guimaraes, Lisbon (Portugal), Florence, Parma (Italy), Marseille, Lyon (France), Limassol (Cyprus) and Izmir (Türkiye).The 3rd batch in October 2024 with Aachen, Münster (Germany), Trikala (Greece), Miskolc (Hungary), Eilat (Israel), Bologna, Bergamo, Milan, Prato, Turin (Italy), Liepāja (Latvia), The Hague (the Netherlands), Porto (Portugal), Bucharest, Suceava (Romania), Ljubljana, Kranj (Slovenia), Gothenburg, Gävle, Umeå (Sweden).
The cities of Liepāja (Latvia), Eilat (Israel), Suceava (Romania), Gävle (Sweden), and Sønderborg (Denmark) were also present at the ceremony to collect their plaques, as they had been previously awarded the label but were unable to attend past ceremonies.
Building on the momentum of last year’s annual Cities Mission Conference in Valencia, around 60 EU Cities Mission cities, networks of cities and national platforms in 15 EU member states have endorsed the Development Declaration for the Cities Mission. The Declaration aims at accelerating the climate transition in cities through the common approach of “scaling as the new normal.” The concept of “scaling as the new normal” underlines the need to move beyond individual pilot projects and ensure that successful climate solutions are rapidly expanded and replicated across cities. This expansion reflects the shared ambition of Mission Cities to accelerate systemic transformation and showcases the charter’s role as a unifying framework for bold local action. With new signatories on board, the Development Declaration for the Cities Mission continues to catalyze cooperation across cities and national platforms.
The 2025 Cities Mission Conference also showcased the ambition and challenges of the 12 Flagship Municipalities from Ukraine that are associated to the Cities Mission. Through the official launch of the SUN4Ukraine Partnership Programme, Mission cities were invited to collaborate more closely with Ukrainian cities on how to integrate reconstruction plans and climate goals.
More information
Climate-neutral and smart cities
Factsheet: Cities on a journey to climate neutrality
Report: Youth Policy Dialogue with Commissioner Zaharieva
A joint European declaration to scale up the Cities Mission | Viable Cities
Cities Mission Conference 2025: Harnessing City Successes – Vilnius