EU Cities Mission
The City of Lappeenranta has been selected as one of the 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities to participate in the European Union's mission. The choice by the European Commission strengthens Lappeenranta’s position as one of the pioneering European climate cities.
Cities selected for the Mission "100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities" commit to achieving carbon-neutrality in 2030. The selected cities will act as centres of experimentation and innovation for solutions that will enable all European cities to achieve the same goals by 2050.
Lappeenranta will benefit from tailored counselling and support aimed at the selected cities, funding opportunities and possibilities to join major pilot projects. The mission will also provide networking opportunities, exchange of best practices between the cities and support for the involvement of citizens. The realization of the objectives of the Missions is supported by development funding. In addition to Lappeenranta, Espoo, Helsinki, Lahti, Tampere and Turku were selected from Finland.
NetZeroCities
The NetZeroCities project will help Europe in its ambition to achieve climate neutrality. The project supports the EU’s Mission “100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030” in drastically cutting down greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality, one of the biggest challenges our societies face today. The project will also provide cities with world-class expertise and services tailored to their needs.
Climate City Contract
Significant reforms of the European Union's new research and innovation program, Horizon Europe, are the Missions with which the Union seeks to solve global and societal challenges. The "100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030" mission is one of the five missions of the European Union’s Horizon Europe program.
In the mission, each selected city will develop and implement a Climate City Contract in collaboration with local businesses as well as the private sector, research organizations and residents. The contract will include an overall plan for climate neutrality across all sectors such as energy, buildings, waste management and transport, together with related investment plans.
The Climate City Contract (CCC) of the City of Lappeenranta was approved by the City Board on September 4, 2023, and submitted for evaluation by the EU on September 15, 2023. The EU Mission Label recognition was granted to the City of Lappeenranta in Brussels on March 21, 2024.
To implement the contract, a local Transition Team has been established, comprising companies and organizations operating in the city. Members of the Transition Team include LUT University, LAB University of Applied Sciences, Wellbeing services county of South Karelia, the Regional Council of South Karelia, Etelä-Karjalan Osuuskauppa, the municipalities of Taipalsaari and Luumäki, Metso Oyj, The Switch Engineering Oy, Fiber-X Finland Oy, Danfoss Editron Oy, Lappeenrannan Energia Oy, Lappeenrannan Toimitilat Oy, Lappeenranta Free Zone Ltd, Lappeenrannan Asuntopalvelu Oy, and Etelä-Karjalan Jätehuolto Oy.
The chairman of the Transition Team is Tuomo Sallinen, Mayor of the City of Lappeenranta.
- Sign up to participate
- Contribute your ideas and actions to the shared plan
- Collaborate to implement the action plan together
- Let’s build a climate-neutral Lappeenranta together
Contact us:
Climate Coordinator Petri Kero: petri.kero@lappeenranta.fi
Environmental Director Ilkka Räsänen: ilkka.rasanen@lappeenranta.fi
