During the 28/29th October 2024, we gathered at the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (UIC) for the first workshop of a series, “Barriers and Enablers to Effective Urban Climate governance: What is Hampering the Transition Toward Carbon-Neutrality in European Cities?”, organized through the Urban Resilience Lab Barcelona (UrLab). Below is the summary of the main insights and research directions proposed over the two days.
Key insights and themes:
The workshop on barriers and enablers toward carbon neutrality in European cities highlighted several key challenges and insights across various aspects of urban climate governance and sustainability efforts. The main discussions were on the following topics:
First, participants critically examined the role of “transition arenas” and “transition teams” as governance frameworks designed to advance urban sustainability. While these frameworks promise to support a smooth transition, discussions revealed a significant gap between their theoretical potential and practical outcomes, suggesting a need to bridge these discrepancies. Another focus was the challenge of replication and upscale. Conversations centered on why upscaling often fails and what factors are essential for successful replication of urban sustainability initiatives. Identifying the right conditions for scaling projects across different contexts is vital, as success in one city may not automatically translate elsewhere.
The workshop also addressed the complex issue of measuring success in just transition funding. Evaluating funding outcomes for just transitions—programs intended to address equity in climate action—proved challenging. Participants highlighted the need for comprehensive metrics that assess not only economic impacts but also equity, environmental benefits, and long-term sustainability, stressing that conventional metrics may fail to capture the full value of such initiatives. Finance emerged as a prominent barrier to climate neutrality, particularly the limitations of traditional grant-based funding models. While private and innovative funding sources offer promising alternatives, they also raise concerns about market-driven conditions and justice implications. This discussion underscored the importance of exploring concepts such as just investments and socially responsible business models within urban governance.
The tension between top-down solutions and local needs was also underlined. Using disaster response as a focus, the discussion highlighted instances where centralized interventions—such as the relocation of populations in Naples after an earthquake or the work of UN agencies in Ukraine—failed to account for local needs, often exacerbating social inequalities. This highlighted the need for greater integration of local knowledge in urban climate initiatives to avoid similar pitfalls.
Another significant challenge discussed was the “slow temporality” of urban climate governance experiments. Governance bodies, such as climate commissions and transition teams, often operate on timelines that may not align with local government schedules, which can limit their impact. When these timelines mismatch, valuable experiments risk becoming irrelevant, posing a substantial barrier to decarbonization efforts. Participants noted that the lack of data on these governance experiments further hinders the ability to evaluate their effectiveness in achieving decarbonization goals.
Lastly, the workshop examined the interplay between climate actions and their contextual environments. It is crucial to recognize that both barriers and enablers to climate action are products of the specific contexts in which these actions are implemented. Factors such as design, planning processes, stakeholder involvement, costs, and local conditions all influence the success or failure of climate initiatives. Understanding these dynamics can reveal what facilitates or restricts climate actions and enable cities to craft more effective, contextually aware strategies toward carbon neutrality.
Overall, the workshop underscored the need for multi-dimensional, flexible approaches to support urban climate transitions in Europe, acknowledging that local nuances, innovative financing, and just governance are critical to overcoming the barriers that stand in the way.