Instruments for Implementing Systemic Change to Foster Climate Transitions in European Cities

Emerging climate transition trends in the European context witness a systemic approach beyond the conventional centring of efforts solely on technological solutions for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction. The systemic approach, core to the European Union’s 2030 Climate Neutral Mission draws from extant literature to encompass both top-down and bottom-up perspectives towards climate neutrality, underscoring the importance of determinants such as trans-disciplinarity and experimentation. This paper presents instruments and tools developed for European cities within the EU-funded project, NetZeroCities, which aims to support a systemic approach to climate neutrality by 2030. These include the Climate City Contract concept and template (CCC), and the Climate Transition Map, which are presented and analysed through the lens of Organisational Innovativeness. These two innovative instruments utilised in the NetZeroCities project present several potential determinants of organisational innovativeness discussed in extant literature: administrative intensity, complexity, functional differentiation, internal communication, managerial attitude toward change, professionalism, slack resources, specialisation, technical capacity, absorptive capacity for new knowledge, and receptive context for change.