Europe’s climate future will be take place in cities

Cities are at the forefront of climate change. From devastating floods to scorching heatwaves, urban areas across Europe are already grappling with the escalating impacts of a warming planet.

In 2024 alone, the continent endured its warmest year on record, with a marked east–west climate divide: extreme heat and drought scorched eastern Europe, while widespread flooding battered western regions.

According to the latest European State of the Climate report, Europe remains the fastest-warming continent on Earth. The consequences for cities are severe, with urban flood damage alone expected to increase tenfold by 2100 unless resilience efforts are urgently stepped up.

Despite this mounting pressure, cities continue to lead the way. As the latest Eurocities Pulse Mayors Survey reveals, climate action remains the number one priority for local leaders in 2025, with 63% of mayors listing it as their top concern for the third year running.

Yet, even as cities forge ahead with bold policies and local innovations, they are increasingly doing so without sufficient support from national and European governments. The EU must respond to the ambition and leadership shown by cities by providing the governance, funding, and regulatory backing that cities need to deliver on Europe’s climate ambitions.

Across Europe, local governments are showing what’s possible when ambition meets proximity to citizens. In Milan, €122 million of Cohesion Policy funding is already powering cleaner transport and energy-efficient building renovations. Gothenburg’s wetland restoration efforts have increased resilience while restoring ecosystems.

Vienna’s green roof strategy transforms overheated urban spaces into cool, biodiverse oases. And in Tampere, Finland’s ten largest cities signed a joint commitment to protect biodiversity, showing that collaboration and shared ambition can cross municipal boundaries. Athens, where heatwaves are now a regular threat to health and infrastructure, has responded by launching the Athenian Energy Alliance.

Cities also demonstrate resilience in times of crisis. In 2024, Malaga successfully responded to severe flooding, an achievement made possible by long-term planning and cross-government coordination.

These examples are not exceptions. As the Eurocities Pulse Mauors Survey reveals, mayors across Europe take pride in progress on decarbonising local economies, improving air quality, and investing in clean energy. They are transforming their cities to meet both mitigation and adaptation goals, despite a policy landscape that often complicates rather than supports their efforts.

While local governments continue to act, political momentum at the EU level is stalling. Most strikingly, the Clean Industrial Deal, published without a proposal on the EU’s 2040 climate target, failed to provide the clarity and ambition cities had been hoping for. The absence of a 2040 target proposal in this critical strategy is a missed opportunity to demonstrate that climate action and industry go hand in hand. It raises concerns about the EU’s long-term commitment to emissions reduction and the consistency of its climate-industrial policy framework. For cities that are already implementing 70% of the European Green Deal legislation and responsible for 69% of climate-related public spending, such mixed signals from the EU risk undermining both confidence and coordination.

Nonetheless, local leaders continue to see the Clean Industrial Deal as an opportunity to shape effective decarbonisation strategies at industrial and territorial levels. But this will only be possible if cities are brought into the fold as strategic partners, not just viewed as an afterthought. Europe’s ability to combine reindustrialisation with climate neutrality depends on linking policy frameworks and enabling action where it matters most – on the ground.

Starting a new mandate, the EU institutions must act swiftly to close the widening gap between the EU’s climate ambition and the realities of local implementation. Cities are ready to deliver, but they cannot do it alone. What they need now is a genuine partnership grounded in adequate resources, fair access to funding, and reinforced governance mechanisms.

Local leaders are calling for increased investment in projects that drive climate neutrality, from energy-efficient buildings and urban greening to sustainable mobility systems. This support must also extend to smaller and mid-sized cities, to ensure that the green transition is not only fast, but fair. Administrative bottlenecks remain a major obstacle, so cities need fast-track access to EU climate finance with simplified procedures that match the urgency of the challenge.

Crucially, EU funding frameworks must do more to integrate and align with local climate efforts. When cities’ climate strategies are recognised within the design of funding programmes, they are more likely to succeed, both in environmental and socio-economic terms. This also requires a rethinking of multi-level governance. Cities need a seat at the table when decisions are made, not just when programmes are implemented.

One of the most urgent actions required is the development of an EU Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, expected in 2026. This plan must set out binding targets, a dedicated investment framework, and tools to help cities prepare for a future shaped by more extreme and unpredictable weather. Closely tied to this should be a comprehensive Water Resilience Strategy that recognises the growing pressures on Europe’s urban water systems, and the expertise cities already bring in managing them.

Additionally, cities must be actively engaged in shaping the EU Circular Economy Act to ensure that it aligns with urban realities, while the success of the Nature Restoration Regulation will hinge on tailored support for urban greening and biodiversity restoration. In all these areas, the principle is the same: local delivery requires EU backing.

The 112 EU Mission Cities are a beacon for what’s possible. Committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2030, they are not only pioneering sustainable solutions but also creating a market for clean technologies that can scale across the continent. These frontrunners are advancing Europe’s green industrial leadership, but they can only bring significant change if the EU institutions match their ambition with sustained investment and legal certainty.

Place-based approaches must become the norm, not the exception. The local dimension of climate resilience and sustainability is too important to be sidelined.

For cities to deliver, the next EU budget must reflect the scale and urgency of the climate transition. The upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034) must be an engine for city-led climate action. This includes increasing the urban earmarking within Cohesion Policy, streamlining access to funding, and reinforcing cities’ role in shaping investment priorities at national and EU levels.

The climate battle will be won or lost in Europe’s cities. That is not a rhetorical flourish – it is a statement of fact. From reducing emissions and protecting biodiversity to strengthening resilience and engaging citizens, cities are already doing the heavy lifting. But they cannot carry the burden alone.

The EU must now step up and match local ambition with political will, structural support and meaningful partnerships. As floods rise and temperatures climb, the cost of inaction, or inadequate action, will only grow. A climate-resilient, inclusive and innovative Europe is within reach. But to achieve it, the EU must recognise what its cities have long known: the road to climate neutrality begins on their streets.