Lisbon and Guimarães are among 23 European cities awarded the EU Mission Cities Label today, as part of the European Union’s (EU) initiative for climate-neutral and smart cities under the Horizon Europe program.

This prestigious label recognizes the cities’ Climate City Contracts (CCCs) and their commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2030. The label aims to facilitate access to public and private funding to support these goals.

The 23 cities featured are Guimarães and Lisbon (Portugal), Ioannina, Kalamata, Thessaloniki and Kozani (Greece), Marseille and Lyon (France), Barcelona and Seville (Spain), Lahti, Turku, Tampere, Espoo and Lappeenranta (Finland), Izmir (Turkey), Florence and Parma (Italy), Heidelberg (Germany), Leuven (Belgium), Malmo (Sweden), Pécs (Hungary), Limasson (Cyprus).

These cities join 10 other cities that were awarded the Mission label in October 2023: Sønderborg (Denmark), Mannheim (Germany), Madrid, Valencia, Valladolid, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Zaragoza (Spain), Klagenfurt (Austria), Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and Stockholm (Sweden).

The EU Mission Label is a recognition of the successful development of Climate City Contracts (CCCs) Climate City Contracts outline a city’s vision and action plan for achieving climate neutrality. They are developed collaboratively with local stakeholders, including the private sector and citizens. These are assessed by the European Commission, with support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). After a positive evaluation, cities receive an EU mission label, which is designed to facilitate access to European, national and regional funding as well as private investment.

A total of 100 European cities are taking part in the EU Cities Mission, with 12 additional cities from countries associated with Horizon Europe.