We promote sustainable development as part of European cooperation

On 28 February 2022, Markku Markkula, Meri Löyttyniemi and 34 other council members submitted a council initiative on Espoo’s participation in EU Missions (in Finnish). The city’s response to the initiative was discussed by the City Board on 6 March 2023 and by the City Council on 20 March 2023.

The response states that the City of Espoo applied to and was selected for two EU Missions in 2022: 100 Climate-neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 and Adaptation to Climate Change. These two missions complement each other with their themes and objectives.

The cities selected for the Cities Mission are committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2030 and serving as innovation and development environments for solutions that will also help other European cities achieve the same goals by 2050. The selected cities will draw up Climate City Contracts together with their local stakeholders. Espoo invites its key partners in climate work to participate. The contract will be drawn up by the autumn of 2023 as part of the same process that includes the Carbon-neutral Espoo 2023 roadmap.

By signing the Charter of the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, the City of Espoo declared its willingness to cooperate and develop activities in its region to reach the adaptation goals. Last year, the City of Espoo drew up an action plan for adaptation to climate change 2022–2025. The city is also in the process of preparing a roadmap for 2035 to safeguard biodiversity based on the principle of no net loss.

European cooperation enables the sharing of good practices and mutual learning and puts Espoo in a good position to apply for EU funding. According to the Espoo Story, access to EU funding is particularly important in promoting the green transition and digitalisation. EU-funded projects that were underway in Espoo in 2022 received a total of EUR 8.3 million in funding, of which EUR 1.7 million came from the Horizon Europe programme. One of the aims of participating in the missions is to improve the city’s access to EU funding for development activities that are based on the goals of the Espoo Story.

Three Finnish cities and four regions, including the Uusimaa region, are involved in the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change. The six Finnish cities selected for the Cities Mission maintain a regular dialogue between the cities and with the key ministries. In connection with its EU-funded projects and to find new opportunities for cooperation, the city also cooperates with various universities and research institutes, the private sector and other partners and stakeholders.

Furthermore, the City Board encourages the Sustainable Espoo programme and the Urban Environment Sector to look for ways to make use of the other relevant EU Missions, which are Restore Our Ocean and Waters(external link, opens in a new window) and A Soil Deal for Europe(external link, opens in a new window). It makes sense to develop activities in cooperation with organisations in the field, especially the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) and those promoting the protection and cleaning of the Baltic Sea.