A grant to support the Mission Director and the Annual Innovation Summit of the Urban Transitions Mission under Mission Innovation

Project Information

MI UTM

Grant agreement ID: 101102296

DOI

10.3030/101102296

Project closed

EC signature date 13 December 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2024

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 420 106,25

EU contribution

€ 349 500,00

Coordinated by

C40 CITIES CLIMATE LEADERSHIP UK
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - MI UTM (A grant to support the Mission Director and the Annual Innovation Summit of the Urban Transitions Mission under Mission Innovation)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Cities account for nearly three-quarters of global energy consumption and 70% greenhouse gas emissions and are a key actor to accelerate progress towards the Paris Agreement goals and pathways to net-zero. To meet the global climate goals, national governments, local governments, the business sector, local stakeholders and civil society must quickly partner to accelerate the implementation of a holistic transition to a net-zero future.
The Urban Transitions Mission (UTM) mobilises decision makers across all levels of government to prioritise climate-neutral and net-zero pathways enabled by clean energy and systemic innovation across all sectors and in urban governance.
By accelerating capacity-building and closing the gap between research, development and deployment, the Mission will empower cities to adopt innovative solutions and help reach tipping points in the cost and scale of those solutions for urban transitions.
The Mission will work with a cohort of 50 ambitious cities worldwide to demonstrate integrated pathways towards holistic, people-centred urban transitions built around clean energy and innovative net-zero carbon solutions. By 2030, these pathways will be validated by an additional group of 250 cities and inspire cities across world regions on their journey towards decarbonisation.
Launched at COP26, the UTM is one of the seven missions of Mission Innovation. Mission Innovation is a global initiative catalysing a decade of action and investment in research, development and demonstration to make clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible for all.
As part of a new Global Innovation Alliance (GIA), MI countries, partners from international organization, private sector, financial institutions and stakeholders worldwide will be engaged in furthering the Mission`s goals through targeted activities and flagship projects under the three action pillars.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The Urban Transitions Mission (UTM) supports a growing cohort of cities to accelerate their journey towards net-zero in a global and thriving environment. UTM engages cities in a regular dialogue, the to help identify support, guidance and tools, brokering access to knowledge from global partners across sectors, and connecting with national governments. Thanks to the creation of a global community of practice and its engagement, cities engaged in the Mission are able to connect, exchange and learn from each other how to strengthen their climate strategies.
Since 2023, the Urban Transitions Mission has already laid the foundations of 105 cities’ climate journey to holistic and people-centred net-zero pathways, mobilizing cross-sector partnerships to prioritize solutions enabled by clean energy and systemic innovation.
During the past two years, UTM carried out over 40 tailor-made trainings and knowledge transfer opportunities following their needs, and launched a dedicated knowledge-sharing platform (the Urban Transitions Mission Center) to host additional exchanges and robust resources. Additionally, UTM worked to expand its Global Innovation Alliance to catalyze opportunities for UTM cities to learn, act, and scale up their action, teaming up with financial institutions, research, academia, national governments, and the private sector. This resulted in over 25 pilot actions that will help cities act as innovation hubs in specific areas.
UTM connects, informs, and leverages the Global Research Action Agenda (GRAA) which identifies and tackles the data, information, and technology gaps that cities and local governments are prioritizing on their climate action journey.
Through its annual UTM Global Innovation Summit, UTM regularly brings together mayors, local leaders, and technical experts from UTM cities. Focused on fostering partnerships, the summit facilitated collaboration among national policymakers, international organizations, private sector stakeholders, and academia. The event provides a unique platform for UTM cities to network, exchange successful approaches, and address challenges in implementing climate-neutral and net-zero pathways through clean energy and systemic innovation.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Since 2023, UTM has helped the first 105 cities of its global cohort to continue advancing in their decarbonization journey. The UTM cohort is committed to working towards a potential collective reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 800 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually by 2050 - roughly equivalent to the carbon footprint of 1.1 million round-trip economy class flights between Buenos Aires and Amman.
Based on a detailed analysis carried out through individual interviews with each city engaged, the Urban Transitions Mission was able to identify main priorities, needs and challenges faced by the cohort and to inform the dedicated development of a needs-based capacity building and assistance program. With themes and priorities identified, UTM aligned the knowledge and assistance offer to the different stages of a city climate action journey.
UTM convened seven working groups to operationalize the support provided to the cities engaged along the lines of seven main “clusters” - Energy, Mobility, Water, Nature-based Solutions, Governance, City-Scale Data & Scenarios, Finance). These seven clusters aim to bring together a variety of regulatory, technological, social and financial tools They provide a space for discussion, help systematize knowledge opportunities and training offers, and set the framework by hosting future collaborations with research and academia to address existing R&I gaps.

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