Enköping, Järfälla, Gothenburg, Lund, Malmö, Stockholm, Umeå, Uppsala and Växjö. They were the first in the innovation program Viable Cities' work for climate change in the initiative "Climate neutral cities 2030". In a press release from the Swedish Energy Agency, which is one of the authorities involved in the project, the project is called "Sweden's largest (investment) in climate change in cities".
On 1 October, it was announced that a further 14 cities will join the programme, and thus the 23 cities, which comprise about 40 percent of Sweden's population, will work intensively to create sustainable cities. The budget for the initiative is over SEK 200 million.
"This is a huge leap forward for the climate transition in Sweden," Olga Kordas, program manager at Viable Cities, said in the press release.
During the autumn, all cities will be invited to a number of workshops and then introduced for viable cities climate contract, which is "a unique tool that concreteizes what cities and authorities undertake and implement to accelerate the climate transition".
"Many of these cities have already come a long way in the climate transition, it's fantastic. Now we need to find new ways of working so that the solutions that exist can be translated quickly and by more people. We don't have time to talk anymore – now we have to do, do, do," says Olga Kordas.
The last 14 cities involved in the project are Borlänge, Borås, Eskilstuna, Gävle, Helsingborg, Kalmar, Karlstad, Kristianstad, Linköping, Mariestad, Nacka, Skellefteå, Örebro and Östersund.