Horizon Europe, hundred cities to save the climate

The European Union change tactics to win its battle against the climate changes. Today the battle restart by 100 cities, chosen to save the climate. It is the project of Horizon Europe.

Horizon Europe

It is called Horizon Europe the program of the European Union to support the effort of 100 european cities, together for a project, save the climate.

The 100 cities undertake to became climatically neutral and intelligent in record time, until the 2030!

The cities sign a “Contract” with the European Union, a contract written with and for the citizens. The cities undertake to present the projects to transform and to re-invent themselves and, from the other side, the European Union promises to finance these projects.

All of it, obviusly, with the purpose to become climatically neutral until the 2030. Currently there are 800 millions of euros on the plate for the 100 cities. But they will have even access to further european funds and to the measurements of the Green Deal.

The mission of the 100 cities climatically neutral

The European Union gave a mission to a team of 20 experts. It is a mission to make 100 european cities climatically neutral.

The first draft’s been already settled even if the final report will finally see the light at the end of september. Now they focus all on the cities and they substantially shorten the times. The purposes at the beginning fixed for the 2050 move to the 2030. We have only 10 years to save the climate!

Focusing on the cities is a very smart thing. Infact, they occupy only the 3% of the landmass, but they host more than half of the global population. Furthermore, they are responsible of the 72% of the greenhouse gases emissions.

From the Green Deal to the Carbon Neutrality

The report “Carbon Neutrality”, for the 100 cities climatically neutral is very ambitious. By fixing the time limit to the 2030 it outclasses the previous Green Deal, which time limit was fixed for the 2050.

Reaching the neutraility in 10 years is a huge challenge but it isn’t unpossible, explain the experts. Infact, they rely the Europe and they believe that it will be possible thanks to green tech investments and to the incentives.

“We want to involve 100 cities with 50 thousands and more citizens or parts of bigger centers but we don’t want to finance the technological innovation. 

The purpose is the one to help the centers not only to emit less, but to develop the “livability”, by creating a more inclusive and open society, a necessity even more felt with the social tensions created by the Covid 19. It is for this reason that when we talk about smart cities we start from an evaluation of the social impact of the technologies used and not on which one and how many sensors will be installed”, explains Maria Vassilakou, major of Vienna.

The city of Vienna was crowned the most livable city of the world for two times, during the terms of Maria Vassilakou.

The italian cities climatically neutral

One of the biggest doubts is: which will be the hundred cities? Many think that most of them will be the northern countries ones, where cities like Stoccolma, Copenaghen, are already advanced in the green field.

But like we said even by Vassilakou this is something that we must try to avoid. We must involve how much cities as possible of the South of Europe, because, as she remembers the major, it’s right them to be mostly affected by the climate changes, gripped by the summer heat.

Luckly there was this turnaround and one city from Italy was one of the very first candidate to the project Horizon Europe, it is Venice.

Venice demonstrated to be “fully in line with the projects about green deal, mobility, environmental neutrality and zero emissions buildings”.

But Venice isn’t the only italian cities candidate. Milan, infact, demonstrated to want a post-Covid surely much more green. The city fixed ambitious targets, that focus right on the climate neutrality, like the transport totally electric or the program ForestaMi.

The project demonstrated that the time terms of 10 years, isn’t impossible, it’s only on us to make it possible. The climate is in our hands.

This post is also available in: Italiano