Four ‘Smart’ Greek Cities Awarded EU Mission Label

Representatives of the Greek awarded cities. Photo source; Environment Ministry

Four Greek cities were awarded the EU Mission Label, which recognizes their plans to achieve climate neutrality by 2030 as part of the ongoing Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities program.

Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Kalamata, and Kozani were awarded the label during a special event last month on occasion of European Research and Innovation Days. Greece was ranked third among countries that responded the fastest and fully met the Mission’s requirements.

The certification is an important milestone for the Greek cities acknowledging the successful implementation of long-term climate planning and outlining the overall vision for climate neutrality, the action plan, and the investment strategy. As part of the program, the four cities tap into public and private financing to achieve climate neutrality.

In this direction, cities jointly co-create the Climate City Contract 2030 together with local stakeholders, the private sector, and residents.

According to the Environment Ministry, Greece has been ranked among Europe’s Top 3 for best practices towards climate neutral and smart cities.

Source: European Commission

In 2022, six Greek cities, including Athens, were listed among the 100 EU cities to be participating in the EU Mission for 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030.

In 2022, 100 cities in the EU and 12 cities in countries linked to the Horizon Europe program were selected to act as models so that all European cities can follow suit by 2050. The 33 cities are: Thessaloniki, Kalamata, Ioannina, Kozani in Greece; Barcelona, Seville, Madrid, Valencia, Valladolid, Vitoria-Gasteiz, and Zaragoza (Spain); Espoo, Lahti, Lappeenranta, Tampere, Turku (Finland); Heidelberg, Mannheim (Germany); Guimaraes, Lisbon (Portugal); Firenze, Parma (Italy); Marseille, Lyon (France); Stockholm, Malmö (Sweden); Leuven (Belgium); Pecs (Hungary); Limassol (Cyprus); Sonderborg (Denmark); Klagenfurt (Austria); Cluj-Napoca (Romania); and Izmir (Turkey).

“Through this effort, we hope to decisively contribute to the implementation of the European Green Deal and to demonstrate its feasibility in Greek urban centers, ensuring a healthy and sustainable future for the next generations,” said Deputy Environment Minister Nikos Tagaras.