EU selects Leuven as one of the pioneering climate cities of the continent

"After our crowning as European Green Leaf and European Innovation Capital, this is another great recognition for Leuven's model of collaboration and the efforts we are making around climate and innovation", says a proud Mayor Mohamed Ridouani.

"Europe sees in Leuven an innovation lab, a city that can serve as an example for other European cities. This reinforces our ambition to make Leuven one of the most sustainable, progressive and prosperous cities in Europe, with and for everyone."

By being selected as a pioneering city, Leuven becomes an experimentation and innovation hub and an example for other European cities. "Leuven has been working on an ambitious climate policy for years, where no one should be left out. The fact that our city has now been chosen for the European Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities offers the opportunity to realise those ambitions more quickly. This puts our city in the leading group of European climate cities. We remain convinced that cities from the bottom up can make a decisive contribution to the global fight against the warming of our planet," said David Dessers, alderman for climate.

In the next eight years the selected cities will do everything in their power to make the city and Europe future-proof. A first step in this process is the drafting of a "Climate City Contract", which includes the path to accelerated climate neutrality by 2030 and a financial plan. This contract is to be created through a collaboration with local partners, in which each formally states their commitment.