Through the EU Green Deal, the European Commission has set the ambitious target of making Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Key to reaching that goal is ensuring that the EU’s 80,000 towns and cities develop plans to implement it locally through Local Green Deals. As part of the Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC), ICLEI has provided towns and cities with A Blueprint for Action to help guide their work.

Cities and towns have an important role to play in implementing the European Green Deal. “Local Green Deals are the concrete vehicle EU cities can use to deliver on their sustainability goals and help Europe become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050,” explains Anna Athanasopoulou, DG Grow’s Head of Unit for Proximity, Social Economy and Creative Industries at the European Commission. “Adopting a Local Green Deal approach, based on co-creation among local stakeholders, practically means that cities support local industry and SMEs lead the twin green and digital transition, create new jobs, mitigate the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and accelerate green innovation and fairer recovery.”

The first of its kind guide, Local Green Deals – A Blueprint for Action, developed as part of the European Commission’s Intelligent Cities Challenge (ICC), provides cities with step-by-step guidance and good practice case studies to support them with creating Local Green Deals. It outlines the rationale behind Local Green Deals, and provides the key principles, levers, and steps for cities, stakeholders, and local communities to implement them. The guide was written by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, and was launched recently during an online event for European Mayors, hosted by the European Committee of the Regions and the ICC project.

The Blueprint for Action helps towns and cities overcome the challenges they face when implementing the Green Deal. “Cities recognise the key role they have to play in ensuring Europe meets the goals set out by the EU Green Deal. However, they lack step-by-step guidance on how they can do this. This first of its kind blueprint provides key principles, levers, good practices, and steps that cities and towns can use to implement a Local Green Deal, helping them move from strategy to action,” said Mark Hidson, Deputy Regional Director, Sustainable Economy and Procurement, ICLEI Europe, and co-author of the guidance document.

The guide provides a roadmap for towns and cities to build momentum and scale up the implementation of their Local Green Deal. It offers step-by-step guidance on localising the EU Green Deal, including how to build a case for this work, how to manage and coordinate the process, how to create synergies between their Local Green Deal and existing sustainability policies in their city, how to build partnerships around this work, and how to finance a Local Green Deal.

The Blueprint for Action includes practical examples and case studies from cities across Europe, including, among others, the Metropolitan Region Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Milan (Italy), and ICLEI Members Mannheim (Germany), Espoo (Finland), and Umeå (Sweden).

For more information and to read the guide, click here.