In late November, Noam participated in the NetZeroCities Budapest Winter School. The winter school facilitated stronger connections among cities and individuals who share a common vision of achieving carbon neutrality. The project plays a key role in the EU’s Mission of “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030”. The focus of the winter school was supporting cities in designing Climate City Contracts* (CCCs) and how they would be further monitored and refined. 

The event applied an active learning approach through practice-based laboratories – with working group sessions, and peer-to-peer sessions sharing strategies, tools, and methodologies – it allowed for a truly multidisciplinary approach to expediting CCCs preparation. The winter school was also a great opportunity to learn from lectures and case studies on financing, social innovation, and citizen engagement. 

Innovative idea for decarbonisation from Greece

One of the many interesting examples of innovation presented by participating cities, was the case of the Trikala Municipality which implemented an e-parking app with the simultaneous objectives of reducing traffic congestion and providing relief for citizens facing energy poverty. Not only did congestion go down, but enough revenues were generated through donations on the app to cover the monthly electricity bills for about 60 households. This was the first initiative of its kind in Greece.

Overall, we believe that the event’s aim to create a community of practice was fulfilled and we are excited to see the project further progress.

* The Commitments (Climate City Contract Core Contract) capture the outcomes of a co-creation process with local, regional, and national stakeholders to establish new ways of working together to achieve climate neutrality faster. It includes a shared 2030 ambition and a strategy to achieve it, as well as the specific commitment(s) to action from stakeholders in the contract.