Horizon Europe - EU Mission - Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities

100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 The Work Programme 2026-27 of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, in line with the Implementation Plan of the Cities Mission, supports the implementation of the Mission by providing strong and direct support to cities committed to climate neutrality, enabling them to implement their climate action plans and achieve climate neutrality by 2030. The cities benefitting from these actions will act as experimentation and innovation hubs for other European cities aiming to become climate-neutral by 2050. Cities’ green and digital transformation with the aim of climate neutrality is associated with important co-benefits and urban qualities such as reduced air and noise pollution, more sustainable mobility, improved health and well-being, reduced urban environmental footprints, enhanced urban greening, more efficient use of energy and infrastructures, as well as improved waste and water management. It also improves policy coherence across sectors and stimulates participatory and inclusive decision-making. The Cities Mission specifically addresses the following main European Commission policy priorities: (1) A new plan for Europe's sustainable prosperity and competitiveness; (2) Supporting people, strengthening our societies and our social model; (3) Sustaining our quality of life - Food security, water and nature. In addition to a significant contribution to the objective of the European Green Deal to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050, the supported actions through the Cities Mission Work Programme will also complement initiatives such as the EU Digital Strategy, Green Deal Industrial Plan, Net-Zero Industry Act, Clean Industrial Deal, Smart and Sustainable Mobility Strategy, New EU Urban Mobility Framework, European Declaration on Cycling, Decarbonise Corporate Fleets Communication, Energy Efficiency Directive, renewed Sustainable Finance Strategy, Renovation Wave, Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Circular Economy Action Plan, European Affordable Housing Plan, Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, Zero Pollution Action Plan, Nature Restoration Law, and European Water Resilience Strategy. Further political priorities and synergies addressed by the Cities Mission include the UN Agenda 2030, New Leipzig Charter, and the Urban Agenda for the EU. The topics of the Work Programme 2026-27 reflect the cross-cutting nature of the Cities Mission. Several topics have been designed as joint activities with other parts of the Horizon Europe programme, including partnerships, other Missions and the New European Bauhaus Facility. The envisaged actions will aim at:

Energy efficient urban and sub-urban public transport, complemented by shared mobility; • Transition to low-temperature heating solutions in multiapartment buildings; • Introducing circular economy models in the construction sector from buildings to city scale: Joint action with the New European Bauhaus Facility, the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative and the Built4People Partnership ; Innovative microgrids for improved energy system integration and efficiency in urban contexts; • Hydrogen Cities: Consecutive call with the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking; • Inclusive and climate resilient multimodal passenger hubs enhancing modal shift towards sustainable transport and shared mobility; • Advancing circular logistics solutions in cities: Joint action with the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative; • Innovative procurement for reducing greenhouse gas emissions; • Urban nature: supporting restoration of urban ecosystems, along urban transport networks and in the built environment: Joint action with the Mission on Climate Adaptation and the New European Bauhaus Facility; • Deploying innovative wastewater management, treatment and valorisation solutions in European cities and regions in the context of climate change: Joint action with the Mission on Climate Adaptation and the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative. Under Other Actions, this Work Programme addresses: • Strengthening of the operational capacity of the Mission Platform established through a Framework Partnership Agreement (HORIZON-MISS-2021-CIT-02-03); • Support for financial advisory services to be provided to help cities implement their investment strategy for becoming climate-neutral; • Support to the Urban Transitions Mission of Mission Innovation. These actions were informed by the Youth Dialogue with Commissioner Zaharieva on ‘the future of our cities’, a feedback opportunity involving city representatives and other co-design activities. Proposals should demonstrate, as appropriate to their scope and size, how they internalise the principles of the Cities Mission, notably: (1) contribute to an overarching strategy aiming at climate neutrality for cities, (2) a holistic and cross-sectoral approach to climate neutrality, and (3) diversity in terms of geographical location and size of cities, also contemplating the level of development of the region where cities are located, aiming for an inclusion of cities also from less developed and more peripheral regions in the actions. Applicants are encouraged to show how their proposals take into account and build upon existing programmes and/or the results of previous R&I projects. Where applicable, they should consider the services offered by the EU-funded European Research Infrastructures; these services range from data sets in human behaviour to modelling or experimental techniques. Strong synergies contributing to the implementation of the objectives of the Cities Mission is expected also from other relevant Horizon Europe partnerships such as the Driving Urban Transitions to a Sustainable Future (DUT). Topics under the Cities Mission Work Programme are also relevant for the Cancer Mission, in particular when addressing co-benefits generated by achieving climate neutrality such as reduced pollution, improved health and wellbeing, increased active mobility contributing then to cancer prevention. Similarly, actions funded under the Cancer Mission focusing on behavioural change can contribute to the objectives of the Cities Mission especially when targeting actions at urban level. In addition, synergies are expected with the Regional Innovation Valleys, which, in line with the New European Innovation Agenda, bring together less and more innovative regions with a view to addressing the most burning challenges facing the EU, namely reducing the reliance on fossil fuels, increasing global food security, mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity), improving healthcare and achieving circularity. Moreover, strong synergies exist with the LIFE Programme, a main EU funding instrument for environmental and climate action plans, particularly through its Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation sub-programme, which aligns closely with the Cities Mission's objectives by supporting innovative efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, enhance urban resilience, and promote climate change awareness. Proposals should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, and more specifically to one or several of the following impacts: • Increased capacity among European cities, with particular attention to those selected under the Cities Mission, to implement their Climate City Contracts (CCCs) and to achieve climate neutrality. • Cities are taking action to increase energy and resource efficiency, promote circular economy, encourage urban regeneration and resilience, and they accelerate the uptake of innovative systemic solutions and clean tech in key areas (e.g., energy, mobility, construction, industry, spatial planning, environment, digitisation, and data handling). • Cities are engaging and involving their citizens in the solutions, technologies developed, and actions taken to become climate neutral, in order to guarantee acceptance, adherence and adoption, as well as give particular attention to people in vulnerable situations. • Cities are increasingly using data and digital technologies (such as data platforms, IoT, AI and local digital twins for predictive scenarios) for better decision-making and to drive efficiencies in delivering services and reducing emissions through open standards and shared technical specifications. • Cities embrace innovative and inclusive cross-sectorial collaborative governance models, facilitating multi-level and multi-stakeholder engagement in decision-making and joint planning, as well as the CCC implementation in collaboration with citizens and local stakeholders. The CCCs identify and pool the demands of the cities in the Cities Mission across sectors, providing scalability and predictability for industry and investors, thus strengthening the competitiveness of European industry and SMEs. Legal entities established in China are not eligible to participate in both Research and Innovation Actions (RIAs) and Innovation Actions (IAs) falling under this part of the Work Programme. For additional information please see “Restrictions on the participation of legal entities established in China” found in General Annex B of the General Annexes.