In this issue, we present examples of some of the activities being done by Austrian towns and cities as they lead the way towards climate neutrality. Reports from more cities will follow in future issues in this series.

Achieving Austria’s ambitious goal of being climate neutral by 2040 will require a fundamental transformation in the economy and society underpinned by two key pillars: delivering the energy and mobility transformation and establishing a circular economy. Cities have a major part to play in this transformation process. The effects of the climate crisis, such as heatwaves, heavy rain and other extreme weather events as well as air pollution and noise emissions are particularly apparent in urban spaces. Yet cities also have a great deal of potential for developing innovative solutions for climate protection and adapting to climate change and trialling them under real-life conditions.
 
With the “Climate-neutral city” mission¹, the Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology (BMK) and the Climate and Energy Fund are helping Austria’s cities to become climate neutral as swiftly as possible.

Leading the way in climate-neutral development

The mission is seeing pioneering towns and cities across the whole country come up with practical solutions for the energy and mobility transformation and the circular economy, all of which are intended to have a significant impact on the climate and be implemented and rolled out quickly. They serve as shining examples of how strategies and measures need to be directed in order to be able to ensure climate fitness in the future.
 
Ten pioneering towns and cities with over 50,000 inhabitants have formed an official partnership with the BMK and, over the next few years, will be showcasing how it is possible in practice to live and do business in a resource-efficient and climate-neutral way. They will build the necessary administrative structures and skills, lay out the first climate-neutral urban districts and share their knowledge with one another. This will create some valuable learning environments and generate expertise that other towns, cities and municipalities in Austria will be able to harness.
 
As well as contributing to climate protection, climate-neutral cities also offer the people living there a better quality of life and many more benefits, such as cost savings from using renewable energy sources and energy-efficient construction methods as well as new fields of work involving innovative, environmentally friendly technologies.

Pioneering towns all over the country

A further 38 Austrian towns with 10,000 to 50,000 people are also backing research and innovation in a bid to achieve the common goal of climate neutrality even sooner. The Climate and Energy Fund is helping them to devise sustainable strategies, objectives and measures for their journey towards climate neutrality.

Learning from one another

Pioneering towns and cities of all sizes, which together account for over 40% of the Austrian population, are able to share their experiences and knowledge with other members of their network, leverage synergy effects and make use of tried-and-tested technologies and findings from research and trial projects. They are receiving comprehensive support from the BMK, the Climate and Energy Fund and the experts from the organisations guiding the process.² This includes:
> Establishing learning environments and supporting knowledge transfer
> Devising and compiling indicators for measuring impact
> Identifying and preparing building blocks for solutions
> Support for the pioneering towns and cities
> Calculating greenhouse gas balances and other indicators Indikatoren