Porto at the forefront of European cities for climate neutrality

10/07/2025

Last June, Porto welcomed Patrick Child, head of the European Commission’s ‘100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030‘ initiative. The main purpose of the visit was to get a closer look at the work that Porto has been developing within the framework of the European Initiative and to strengthen dialogue with local authorities and key ongoing projects.

The visit included a meeting with the Deputy Mayor of Porto, Filipe Araújo, who is responsible for the Environment, Climate Transition and Innovation departments. During the meeting, an update was provided on the implementation of the Climate City Contract (CCC), signed by Porto in 2023, with a focus on the priority actions aimed at accelerating the city’s carbon neutrality by 2030.

This was followed by a technical visit to emblematic projects of the municipal strategy, such as the Asprela Central Park – an example of multifunctional green infrastructure and a nature-based solution for mitigating the effects of climate change – and also the Asprela Renewable Energy Community, one of the pilot initiatives in the field of decentralised energy and the mobilisation of local stakeholders.

During the visit, Patrick Child highlighted Porto’s leadership role among the European cities participating in the initiative and expressed particular interest in the city’s involvement in complementary programmes, such as the Pilot Cities Programme and the Twinning and Learning Programme, emphasising Porto’s commitment to collaborative innovation, citizen participation, and urban sustainability.

The visit reinforced the mutual trust between Porto and the European Commission, at a crucial stage for the implementation of the commitments undertaken under the initiative. It also highlighted the city’s determination to continue working with its European partners to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.