Published on | 3 years ago
Last updated on | 3 months ago
pascal.verheye@vlaio.be
Cities all over the world are growing in size and numbers which means more pollution unless we take action to reduce noise and environmental emissions. This way we can create cities with better quality of life through reduced urban environmental footprints, enhanced urban greening, reduced soil sealing and improved water management. In addition to these benefits, this mission also contribute to the overal target of 55% CO² emission reduction by 2030.
The Cities Mission is not just about the city council but also requires engagement and input from citizens, businesses, investors as well as regional and national authorities to achieve these 2 main objectives:
As foreseen in its implementation plan, the Cities Mission takes a cross-sectoral and demand-led approach, creating synergies between existing initiatives and basing its activities on the actual needs of cities.
To deliver on the Mission's objectives, the EC will launch many other calls for proposals on innovative urban solutions which are open to everyone. This means that companies, academic organisations and researchers, non-profit organisations and so on can also take part. Additionally, the EC intends to facilitate synergies between the different European programmes. These synergies could be within Horizon Europe (such as between missions and clusters) as well as outside Horizon Europe (such as the Cohesion Fund or the ERDF-fund).
The Cities Mission Implementation Plan aims to be the operational blueprint for how the Commission will deliver on the main goal and the objectives of this Mission, providing an operational course of action.
There was a general call published in 2021 for cities to show an expression of interest in becoming a climate-neautral and smart cities. Out of the 377 applications, the Commission announced on 28 April 2022 the 100 cities that will participate in the Cities Mission. The 100 cities come from all 27 Member States, with 12 additional cities coming from countries associated or in the process of being associated to Horizon Europe.
The cities are helped by the Mission Platform (managed by the project NetZeroCities). This Mission Platform collaborates closely with existing initiatives, such as the Covenant of Mayors, JRC, and the Covenant Community Group of Cities Practitioners.
The calls for proposals are not only aimed at local authorities. Companies, universities, organisations can also be part of a consortium submitting a project. The open & forthcoming calls are available on the Funding and Tenders Portal.
Find it out here.
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The Stargate project obtained funding under the special Green Deal call of Horizon 2020, more in particular under the topic of “green ports and airports”. It received the maximum score of the evaluators and was selected out of more than 40 projects. Stargate’s purpose is to prove that sustainable aviation is possible and happening. It focuses on the further decarbonization of the aviation industry, the improvement of local environmental quality and the stimulation of the modal split. Together with a consortium of 21 European partners with a diverse and rich expertise (airports, community partners, knowledge institutions, consultants, local governments, …), Brussels Airports takes the lead as lighthouse airport to develop and implement innovative solutions. Results that prove successful can be deployed at the fellow airports (Toulouse, Budapest, Athens). Over the course of the coming five years, the consortium will exchange knowledge to investigate and realize more than 30 concrete projects.