The European Commission has set an ambitious target to make 112 cities on the continent climate neutral by 2030. Green Vilnius is one of such cities. To achieve this ambitious and very important goal, the capital needs to make a number of changes, but the city is ready and already rolling up its sleeves.

What does it mean to be a climate neutral city?

Let’s start from the beginning. A climate-neutral city strives to minimise GHG emissions by 2030, while compensating for unavoidable emissions through, for example, planting trees. Climate neutrality is not just about resource efficiency, it is also about economic growth, job creation and innovation.

Cities Mission Climate City Contract and cooperation

Vilnius, like the other project cities, is working on a special plan, namely, the Cities Mission Climate City Contract with Vilnius City. This contract will include action and investment strategies to help the city achieve climate neutrality in the fields of energy, transport, buildings and waste management. The Cities Mission Climate City Contract will open the door for Vilnius to work with regional and national authorities and EU organisations to find the tools and financial support to implement innovative projects.

Urban transformation will involve a wide range of stakeholders – municipal authorities, research organisations, business and industry and citizens. They all will work together to drastically reduce urban GHG emissions.

Low emission areas

Transport is one of the main sources of GHG emissions in Vilnius, accounting for 38% of the city’s climate change emissions. With its comprehensive strategy “Sustainable Mobility”, the city aims to create low-emission areas. These are areas designated by Vilnius City Municipality where access for high emitting vehicles is restricted or prohibited. The aim is to improve air quality and reduce the impact of pollution on the environment and people in the areas concerned. These areas will come into force from 2025.

The new institution Climate Neutral Vilnius is currently actively works with Vilnius City Municipality and various partners to develop key documents and plans to achieve its mission:

  • Climate City Contract with Vilnius City (in cooperation with the European Commission’s City Mission Platform NetZeroCities);
  • Climate Change Adaptation Plan (in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and experts from the platform MIP4Adapt platform);
  • Green City Action Plan (in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)).