Climate-4-CAST Ventures to Aarhus: Launching the Pilot Phase of the Climate Action Decision Support Tool

Over 25 representatives from the 10 partners of the Climate-4-CAST project convened on April 25 and 26 in Aarhus, Denmark, marking the second partners’ gathering since the project’s Kick-off Meeting in Hamburg last November. Hosted by the Municipality of Aarhus, one of the project’s six pilot cities, the meeting explored and delved into various topics and ongoing project activities aimed at driving further Climate-4-CAST’s efforts to address climate neutrality challenges faced by local public authorities and to prepare cities for the first pilot phase starting in May 2024.

Highlights and Focus

A focal point of the second project consortium meeting was the transition from the pilot preparation phase to the commencement of the pilot implementation phase for the Climate-4-CAST solution: the Climate Action Decision Support Tool and the Operationalization Guidelines. In this framework, the meeting was instrumental in addressing various aspects in preparation for the 1st pilot implementation phase such as the Tool’s technical development, fine-tuning the pilot action plans to ensure effective Tool integration within each partner city’s unique governance framework, and strategizing the implementation and evaluation of the pilot implementation’s effectiveness. In a City Speed Dating, the project partners exchanged on piloting goals, measures and challenges. Moreover, participants engaged in constructive discussions centered on future collaboration opportunities of the Climate-4-CAST partners with cities and stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region, emphasizing forthcoming project events such as the Climate Budget professionals’ training course and the Climate Budget Summit scheduled for 2025.

Future Outlook

The second consortium meeting marks a significant milestone for the Climate-4-CAST project as the six pilot cities gear up to test an innovative climate budget Tool and novel governance processes to facilitate their journey towards climate neutrality. Following the pilot phase, further activities are high in the Climate-4-CAST agenda, aiming in particular to enhance and improve the Tool’s performance within the pilot city contexts and to ensure its transferability character across cities in the Baltic Sea Region and beyond. Reflecting on the achievements from this first project phase and as they prepare to implement the pilot plans, the six partner cities and the other project partners eagerly anticipate new insights and learnings from their pursuit of climate neutrality.

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