Winter School 2023: Budapest

Twenty-nine representatives from nineteen European cities, all of which are part of NetZeroCities, attended the school.

Between November 22 and 24, in the framework of NetZeroCities, the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME) hosted the NZC Winter School 2023, organized by Politecnico di Milano, with the support of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Twenty-nine representatives from nineteen European cities, all of which are part of NetZeroCities, attended the school. The cities attend the Winter School with the aim of acquiring tools for the elaboration of their CCC (Climate City Contract). In total, more than sixty European cities have

already attended these trainings in the last two years.

In this sense, the course focused on providing participants with essential knowledge on different topics related to the mission of achieving climate neutrality. This was done through interactive sessions and workshops, where the following topics were addressed:

• Transition and local governance team
• Co-development of portfolios for climate action planning
• Indicators for measurement, evaluation and learning
• Economic modelling and investment planning
• Social innovation and multi-stakeholder participation

In addition, the course offered several networking moments that allowed participants to initiate conversations and relationships, encouraging a sense of empowerment and solidarity in their work.

During this Winter School, the cities also had the opportunity to connect with local authorities in Budapest, including the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Dr. Alföldi György, Dr. Szabó Árpád, head from the Department of Urban Planning and Design (BME), and the Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony.

The NetZeroCities consortium is currently planning more events in the framework of the training program, both virtual and face-to-face, to offer city representatives more opportunities to learn together on their path to climate neutrality.

NetZeroCities is the European project that supports the EU Mission Cities.  It works with the 112 European cities known as "Mission Cities" in drastically reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to achieve climate neutrality. EU Mission Cities is part of the European Green Pact in building a low-carbon and resilient future through research and innovation.

BME-Faculty of Architecture

Photo: Geberle B.