The NetZeroCities Programme announced in March 2023 the fifty-three cities selected for the launching year of the project, and the RESPONSE Lighthouse Cities, Dijon (FR) and Turku (FI), and one of the Fellow Cities, Zaragoza (ES), are part of the cities list on a path to total decarbonisation.

Each Pilot City selected in the NetZeroCities Programme has identified pathways toward climate neutrality, taking action on bespoke combinations of six main domains, including: energy; waste management; land use; electricity for buildings; industrial processes; and mobility and transport. On this journey, each Pilot City will align their activities with existing and new partnerships, initiatives, and goals, to amplify outcomes and impact.

All 53 cities have the same ambition, to pave a way for a climate-proof future in Europe, and to scale up their solutions for the replication in other cities. They represent twenty-one different European Union and Horizon 2020 Associated Countries and were chosen out of 103 applications involving 159 cities.  

RESPONSE project is proud to be represented by the cities of Dijon, Turku, and Zaragoza, with the announcement of the NetZeroCities Programme happening shortly before the inauguration of RESPONSE’s Positive Energy Blocks (PEBs) in the Lighthouse Cities, Dijon and Turku.

The RESPONSE Project started in 2020, funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme. The consortium is composed of 53 partners from 13 European countries, and the main aim of RESPONSE is to turn energy sustainability into a do-able vision by solving the energy trilemma (security, equity/affordability, environmental sustainability) at building, block and district levels in smart cities. The project builds upon intelligent integrated and interconnected energy systems coupled with demand-oriented city infrastructures, governance models and services that foster energy sustainability.

The Lighthouse Cities, Dijon and Turku, selected for the NetZeroCities Programme, are advancing already existing city platforms to further support the operation of a smart and resilient city in the context of climate adaptation and safety risks, supporting services such as smart diagnostics and disaster management or “perturbations”, by sending targeted alerts to their citizens.

In parallel, the know-how of the Lighthouse Cities are being distributed to the Fellow Cities, Brussels (BE), Botosani (RO), Ptolemaida (GR), Gabrovo (BG) Severodonetsk (UA), and Zaragoza (ES), also selected to be part of the NetZeroCities Programme.The six cities have different conditions of energy systems, climate, building types and financial possibilities and challenges, with a long-term commitment to replication activities through their existing policies and strategies. 

The three RESPONSE project cities represented in the NetZeroCities Programme are propelling the EU Cities Mission forward, part of the aim of the 112 climate-neutral cities by 2030. With the launch of the Positive Energy Blocks (PEBs) in 2023, the RESPONSE project is closer to this objective, essential for all European cities and citizens.