Citizen engagement case studies in four European cities

The medieval city of Leuven in Belgium has adopted an ambitious transition programme to address the climate emergency. Its goal is to lower CO2emissionsby 67% by 2030 and to achieve neutrality by 2050. To do so, Leuven 2030, an NGO based on a shared governance model between local authorities, businesses, knowledge institutions and civil society organisations, has agreed on a roadmap that aims to ensure an ambitious and fair transition.

Back in 2009, the industrial city of Manchester decided to gather all the city’s stakeholders and design the first climate change strategy in its history. In 2015, the non-profit Manchester Climate Change (MCC) Agency was created. In 2018 the Manchester Climate Change Partnership emerged, bringing together businesses, NGOs, the City Council and the MCC youth board, with plenty of scope for citizens to get involved. Their roadmap contains CO2 emissions reductions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2038.

The Porto Local Climate Pact aims to create a diverse community working towards climate neutrality by 2030. Porto focuses on achieving this goal through voluntary and meaningful participation by a broad range of stakeholders to bolster actions at the national and local levels that manage to create a more equal, sustainable and respectful city for all.

In 2017, the Métropole of Rouen launched a climate action agreement called “Notre COP21” (“Our COP21”) to mitigate the city’s urban area CO2emissions. To this end, a local IPCC was set up, the Rouen Agreement for Climate was signed and an action plan was developed. This Territorial Climate, Air and Energy Plan (PCAET) contains a 73% GHG reduction objective by 2030. To achieve this, the Métropole of Rouen can count on the help of its citizens, from scientists to residents.

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