The preparation of the candidacy and the submission (on Friday, January 28) for the inclusion of Kozani in the Mission of Cities (100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities in Europe until 2030) was successfully completed.
The Mission aims to select 100 European cities, which will act as research and innovation pilots to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, 20 years earlier than the overall target. The cities will therefore be the model for the other Union’s cities for the following years.
In the summer of 2021, the Mayor of Kozani, Lazaros Maloutas, expressed his vision to make the Municipality of Kozani the first climate-neutral and smart municipality in Greece. This vision was adopted by a Decision of the Municipal Council taking the form of a Declaration on Climate Neutrality.
A working group was formed to prepare the candidacy, a wide network of collaborations was formed, with mainly local bodies, the academic and research community and individual experts, who were under the direct control of the Mayor and the coordination of its executives.
Throughout the previous period, a great effort was made to properly prepare the Municipality’s submission of candidacy, while informational and consultational actions with the civil society started.
In addition, the Municipality of Kozani became a full member of the Agreement of the Green Municipalities of the EU (Green City Accord), while it was accepted in the Network of Local Authorities for Sustainability (ICLEI). At a national level, the Municipality of Kozani became a member of the new Network of Municipalities and Regions for Climate Change (Climattica), in which the Mayor of Kozani was elected vice president.
On the initiative of the Mayor of Kozani in July 2021, the first online meeting was held on “100 Climate Neutral Cities by 2030” with the participation of four other Greek Municipalities. Α memorandum of cooperation that aims to create a Greek Network of Municipalities for Climate Neutrality will be signed between the Greek Municipalities that intend to participate in the Mission.
The video of the Municipality of Kozani for the “100 Climate Neutral and Smart European Cities until 2030”: https://youtu.be/ZECKjLq5vGE
