As part of the journey towards climate neutrality and the Twinning Learning Programme, Guimarães hosted Paula Serra Bachs, NetZeroCitiesEU advisor, and representatives from the selected twin city, Torres Vedras, on 22 and 23 May.
Representing Guimarães, the meetings were attended by the climate transition team, which includes the Municipality of Guimarães, the Landscape Laboratory and the Guimarães 2030 Mission Structure. During the two days, Guimarães presented the projects it is implementing in Bairro C and, as a project to replicate, Torres Vedras expressed its intention to create a Climate Pact.
On the morning of the second day, the working meeting included a step-by-step approach to the climate transition, in which essential topics in this process were addressed, namely objectives, systemic priorities and the creation of a consolidated energy matrix, timetabling, team and decision flow, identification of stakeholders, community involvement, through academia and the private sector.
During the group sessions, Paula Serra emphasised the ‘maturity of the climate transition team and the projects that will be tested in a pilot area’. Isabel Loureiro, coordinator of the Guimarães 2030 Mission Structure, emphasised the ‘importance of the climate journey that Guimarães has been on since 2013’ and the ‘creation of the Guimarães 2030 Governance Ecosystem’.
About the Twinning Learning Programme
As part of NetZeroCitiesEU’s Twinning Learning Programme, the municipality of Guimarães was selected as a pilot city and will be ‘twinned’ with Torres Vedras until May 2025. This link once again reinforces Guimarães’ commitment to building a “greener” society, promoting the exchange of knowledge, learning from best practices and case studies, as well as the implementation of innovative solutions.
NetZeroCitiesEU’s Twin Cities programme aims to guide cities in their learning and replication efforts from pilot cities, with a practical focus on replicating systemic transformation methodologies and innovative approaches on the road to climate neutrality.
About Bairro C: Zero Carbon Commitment
Developed by the municipality of Guimarães, the ‘Bairro C: Zero Carbon Commitment’ pilot project in the Couros area aims to take an integrated approach to energy, mobility, waste and land use, leveraging behavioural change, social innovation, culture, politics, green technologies, sustainable finance and new business models. The project is based on a Citizen’s Pact for neutrality and co-creation processes, promoting strong citizen involvement and decarbonisation by promoting the use of public transport, energy efficiency and local renewable energy production, particularly in historic buildings, and circular economy strategies.