Would you like to introduce climate budgeting practices in your city, exchange with peers to build professional contacts, and boost local climate actions? Welcome to the training on climate budget, a set of hands-on online trainings with a concluding conference organised for local authorities!
This versatile climate budget training course is aimed at regional and national public authorities, decision-makers, and sustainability and climate experts, as well as financial staff in local administrations. Make sure to invite relevant colleagues!
The Climate Budget Training Course was officially launched during the Climate Budget Summit #1, which took place in Malmö on the 1st of October 2025.
Join the mentoring exchange by filling the digital contact card and discuss with other cities!
Participation in all events is free, but you need to register to them separately.
MODULE 1: Getting started with climate budgeting
FORMAT:Â Online training
DATE:Â 2 December 2025
How can climate budgeting support cities’ directions for climate neutrality, what are different approaches to it, and where to begin? In the Module 1, we opened the discussion on urban climate governance and explored various approaches to climate budgeting through practical examples from Espoo and Aarhus. The Module 1 was organised as the Climate Budget Summit #1 and it was followed further with the recorded UBC TALKS webinar.
Presentations:
Video:
MODULE 2: Obtaining mandate and setting cooperation
FORMAT:Â Online training
DATE:Â 29 January 2026 at 9.00-11.30 CET / 10.00-12.30 EET
This module introduced how cities can begin climate budgeting in ways that reflect their local mandate and context – while meeting key prerequisites for success. Participants explored how to lay strong foundations, build internal capacity and foster cross-departmental cooperation. Practical examples from the cities Riga, Vienna and Norderstedt illustrated how different sectors can contribute climate actions and how collaboration enables tailored yet effective climate budgeting approaches.
Presentations:
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MODULE 3: Climate actions portfolio and emissions data inventory
FORMAT:Â Online training
DATE: 31 March 2026, 9.00-12.00 CEST / 10.00-13.00 EEST
This module focused on building a robust climate actions portfolio grounded in existing strategies and supported by credible emissions data with an example from a national level climate inventory from Denmark. Participants learned how emissions baselines and action-level calculations are developed, including data sources and emissions factors, and how challenges are addressed in practice, with examples from Östersund, Riga and Bytom.
Presentations:
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MODULE 4: Analysing costs & benefits, building scenario and interpreting results
FORMAT:Â Online training
DATE: 7 May 2026, 9.00-12.00 CEST / 10.00-13.00 EEST
How to assess the financial costs and benefits of climate actions compared with business-as-usual scenarios. Participants explored different impact assessment methods used by cities like Tampere and Aarhus, including cost-efficiency and cost–benefit analyses, and learned how these calculations are impacted by different scenarios. The module also demonstrated how results can be visualized and explained in an accessible way – ensuring that complex financial insights effectively support informed decision-making, with the Climate Action Decision Support (CADS) Tool developed in the Climate-4-CAST project.
Presentations:
Video:
MODULE 5: Hands-on practical CADS tool training
FORMAT: Hands-on workshop in Turku, Finland
DATE: 1-2 September
Join us at the city lab on climate budgeting for a special hands-on workshop designed for cities! Together with peers from across the Baltic Sea Region, you will exchange practical experiences, explore real city use cases, and directly learn how to use the open CADS (Climate Action decision Support) Tool for calculating climate scenarios. During the workshop, participants will work hands-on with the tool: learning what data to enter, how to set it up, and how cities can benefit from concrete scenario modelling and climate budgeting insights. Expert guidance and peer support will help you take the next steps for your own city!
The programme includes expert presentations and exchange sessions, networking opportunities, inspiring site visits, and a networking dinner with fellow city representatives at the forefront of the climate action.
The main target audience of the workshop are city employees from local authorities in the Baltic Sea Region. We also welcome other stakeholders working with climate budgeting in cities as well as city representatives beyond our region.
- Event Page
- Registration
- This is an open event for any interested city, but the number of places is limited, so make sure to register early! This is a physical event in Turku, there is no online alternative.
- The discussion will focus on the tool, so we especially encourage to join those cities that have already participated in (or watched) at least one of the previous training modules of the course.
MODULE 6: Climate Budget Summit
FORMAT: Conference in Brussels
DATE:Â October 2026, tbc
This final event of both the course and project will bring all lessons learned and accumulated best practices, and highlight how cities can use climate budgeting tools in real-life contexts to support effective communication and decision-making. Exact dates will be communicated later, the Summit will be back-to-back with the EU Week of Regions and Cities.
This module explores how cities use climate budgeting tools in real-life contexts to support effective communication and decision-making. Participants learn how to translate technical results into compelling narratives for mayors, political leaders and the public – both within formal budgeting processes and more informal settings. Drawing on city experiences, this closing module highlights the role of the CADS tool at different stages of climate budgeting maturity and reflects on future potentials and development needs for climate budgeting practices across Europe.
