European Commission awards the EU Mission Label to Espoo’s climate work
Espoo is rapidly reducing emissions on its way towards carbon neutrality together with partners and the entire community. The EU Mission Label awarded to Espoo by the European Commission shows how important cooperation with partners is in achieving climate goals. A total of 23 climate work forerunners in Europe received the EU Mission Label.
The Climate City Contract, which was completed in the autumn of 2023, describes the measures and cooperation through which the Espoo community can achieve the ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2030. The contract is part of the EU Mission for 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities, and the commitment to work towards a common goal has been signed by the city and its 25 partners. The EU Mission Label, awarded to Espoo in Brussels on 21 March 2024, is an acknowledgement of the city’s strong commitment to climate work and strengthens the role of the Espoo community as a pioneer in the green transition.
“The green and digital transition is the engine of new sustainable growth. It offers companies and other organisations in Espoo’s innovation community opportunities to boost job creation, export activities, economic growth and wellbeing. The EU Mission Label is an acknowledgement of Espoo’s role as a forerunner city. Together with companies and everyone in Espoo, we create new climate work innovations and good practices to help all cities,” says Markku Markkula, Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions, Vice-Chairperson of the Sustainable Espoo programme and a member of the Espoo City Council.
Cities and urban communities play a key role in achieving climate goals. Through the Cities Mission, the Commission wants to promote the allocation of private and public funding towards solving climate challenges in cities. At the end of January, Espoo was also selected to participate in the Pilot Cities Programme related to the Cities Mission, which offers opportunities to expand and deepen local partnerships through the two-year EU-funded project.
Espoo reduces its carbon footprint, increases its carbon handprint and strengthens the heartprint of climate work
The rapid electrification of heat production and transport plays a key role in achieving Espoo’s climate goals. Launched by Microsoft and Fortum, the world’s biggest project to recover waste heat from data centres is an example of an investment that enables emission reductions and digitalisation, creates jobs and boosts vitality. Climate action requires the entire community’s input, and the sustainability transformation calls for a new way of thinking, skills and learning.
In the EU Cities Mission, Espoo acts as an experimentation and innovation hub for solutions that will help all European cities become climate-neutral by 2050. All the selected cities are willing to carry out development activities through extensive local cooperation and to reduce emissions rapidly.
The commitment related to the Climate City Contract has been signed by several companies, research institutes and universities from Espoo’s award-winning innovation community (Espoo and 25 partners work together towards carbon neutrality | City of Espoo, 4 Oct 2023). This cooperation will further deepen as part of an EU project to be launched in May (Espoo deepens cooperation with climate partners as part of EU’s Pilot Cities Programme | City of Espoo, 8 Feb 2024).
Enquiries
Helena Kyrki, Manager of Sustainable Development, helena.kyrki@espoo.fi, tel. +358 43 8248661