Limassol has been awarded the European Union Mission Label for its commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2030.
This was announced by the European Commission on Tuesday, March 26.
For its part, the local mayor's office said that the awarding of the EU Mission Mark is an important milestone for Limassol, as it recognizes the city's plans to achieve climate neutrality and aims to facilitate access to public and private funding to achieve this goal. It is worth mentioning that Limassol has been working on improving its green reputation for several years now. For example, last year it became the "Greenest City in Cyprus".
In total, 22 cities were honored with the award along with Limassol this year. Among them are: Ioannina, Kalamata, Kozani, Thessaloniki, Barcelona, Seville, Malmö, Lisbon, Florence, Marseille, Lyon, and Izmir.
All these cities are giving impetus to others to move faster towards a just green and digital transition. They are an example of inclusive co-creation of policies at the local level," said the European Commission.
Recall that a total of 100 European cities are participating in the EU Mission, as well as another 12 from the Horizon Europe program. The EU Mission label confirms that cities, together with local stakeholders, including the private sector and citizens, create their "Climate City Contracts". In these contracts, they define a common vision for climate neutrality and mark an action plan as well as an investment strategy.
The first group of cities created their contracts in April 2023, which were reviewed by the European Commission with the support of experts including the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Joint Research Center (JRC). Cities that have received the EU Mission label can now use it as a sign of confidence in their climate neutrality plans, especially when approaching public and private funders. In turn, the European Commission will continue to support cities with practical advice and funding programs, such as the €32 million pilot program combined with the Twinning program.
In addition, all cities that have submitted their contracts, regardless of whether they have received the EU mission label, are provided with feedback on areas that can be developed further with the platform's support.
The European Commission noted that cities are responsible for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions and consume more than 65% of the world's energy. Action in cities is therefore crucial for climate change mitigation and can help accelerate efforts to achieve a legally binding commitment to climate neutrality in the EU as a whole by 2050. Also, the EU plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030.