A total of 19 proposals from 26 submitted were selected for evaluation under the Horizon Europe call HORIZON-MISS-2022-CIT-01-01 – designing inclusive, safe, affordable and sustainable urban mobility. Launched on 28 April 2022 with a submission deadline of 6 September 2022, the call has a budget of EUR 42 million.

The evaluation process is expected to conclude by December 2022. The call is part of the Horizon Europe Missions Work Programme 2021-2022: Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities “Cities Mission”.

Key role of cities for climate goals

Cities play a pivotal role in achieving climate neutrality by 2050, the goal of the European Green Deal. They take up only 4% of the EU’s land area, but they are home to 75% of EU citizens. Cities also consume over 65% of the world’s energy and account for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions. This is why we need to support cities in accelerating their green and digital transformation.

European cities can substantially contribute to the Green Deal target of reducing emissions by 55% by 2030, and in practical terms, offer cleaner air, safer transport and less congestion and noise for citizens. The “Cities Mission” will involve local authorities, citizens, businesses, investors, as well as regional and national authorities to:

  • Deliver 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030;
  • Ensure that these cities act as experimentation and innovation hubs to enable all European cities to follow suit by 2050.

It is one of five EU Missions, a novelty of the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme for 2021-2027. They are a new way of bringing concrete solutions to some of our greatest challenges. Working towards ambitious goals, they are expected to deliver tangible results by 2030.

Source: European Commission