EU-KOMMISSIONENS MISSION – VÄGEN TILL KLIMATNEUTRALITET FÖR EUROPAS STÄDER

Abstract

To tackle the challenges posed by climate change in cities, the European Commission has launched a new initiative within Horizon Europe, the Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities. The 100 chosen cities in the mission will work to become climate neutral by 2030, 20 years before the rest of the EU. In Sweden, the Viable Cities programme was rigged to prepare and profile Swedish cities for this mission. The mission differs from earlier EU initiatives by taking a systems approach to innovation, where governance innovation and citizen engagement are crucial. Through citizen engagement the traditional distribution of power within the city system is changing. Using Foucault’s theory of governmentality, this study explores how three Swedish cities view the mission and how they have worked with different forms of ruling to encourage sustainable norms and behaviors among their citizens. The result of the study shows several indicators of governmentality, such as different types of power and norm-setting at several levels.