SMCs and Climate Neutrality: The what's, why's and how's

On 27 April, POLIS’ Small & Medium-Sized City (SMC) Platform met to discuss the journey to climate neutrality; what measuring transport-related emissions reduction means, and how cities can approach this challenge.

Small and Medium-Sized cities (SMCs) are taking some of the most audacious and innovative actions towards climate neutrality. Indeed, the EU’s Climate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission list is littered with POLIS member SMCs. However, given their size and available resources, SMCs face unique challenges in achieving decarbonisation targets, and their approaches must be tailored to their specific needs and capacities.

As the Cities Mission gets underway, and 2030 fast approaches, moving from planning to implementation is increasingly urgent for cities.

A major component of this process is creating targeted measures to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs) and monitoring their success. Transport is currently responsible for around one-fifth of global CO2 emissions, with urban passenger transport accounting for nearly a third of this.

However, as many cities know all too well, this is often a complex process and requires human and financial resources and know-how.

To support POLIS members in navigating this, POLIS’ SMC Platform and Climate Neutral Cities Mission Taskforce united to explore how cities are confronting these challenges, the support and collaborations available and what will be needed for successfully cutting transport-related emissions.