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In its Regional Strategy of the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) with the Western Balkans 2025–2027, Austria identified climate and environment as one of its three thematic priorities for the region. The strategy emphasises that transitioning towards climate neutrality, strengthening climate resilience, and enhancing environmental governance are key drivers of sustainable development. It also highlights the […]

With the wealth of expertise and experience that participants from various climate action backgrounds will bring to the event, EUKICON26 will offer a unique pan-European opportunity for networking and inspiration. The diverse line-up of speakers includes politicians such as Thomas Kralinski, Director General for National and European Climate Action at the Federal Ministry for the Environment, […]

With their focus on cross-border cooperation, the EUKI-funded projects support the European ideal. They bring together partners from 21 European countries, with the highest rate of participation from Bulgaria (8 projects), Hungary (7), Germany (6) and Romania (6). Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Montenegro and Lithuania are also taking part, with one project each. […]

Financial professionals are crucial to the success of EUKI-funded projects. They manage and oversee the finances and contracts behind the scenes. However, events specifically tailored to these professionals are few and far between. Finance managers rarely have the opportunity to meet in person to discuss about grant management. Commited to addressing this gap, the EUKI […]

As a corner stone to support regions affected by the transition to a climate-neutral Europe, the Just Transition Fund was adopted as a funding instrument in 2021. The current implementation period for these support measures runs until 2027. It remains unclear how the instrument will continue beyond that point.  Nevelina Pachova, Research Fellow at RMIT Europe, shared insights from the project “BOLSTER” on stakeholder engagement within the implementation of […]

Growing geopolitical tensions, also amplified by the impacts of climate change, are reshaping the foundations of prosperity and stability in Europe. A swift transition to climate neutrality could strengthen Europe’s security, resilience and sovereignty.The key challenge here is to identify and advance synergies between climate and security aims: Infrastructure, energy systems, industrial policy, and innovation […]

With the Retrofit HUB project, you broke new ground. What was your idea? Ana Smola: Before we started the Retrofit HUB project, we had already been raising awareness of the building sector’s potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions among professionals such as architects and civil and mechanical engineers for quite some time. However, we then […]

Many of the approximately 40 municipal buildings managed by the city date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries. Heating these building not only accounts for a significant share of maintenance costs, but is also unsustainable and, therefore, not in line with the ambitious climate targets set in Cieszyn’s Sustainable Energy and Climate Action […]

“Oscar the Traffic Snake Game”: A Lesson in Sustainable Mobility  The idea was as simple as it was powerful: The “Oscar the Traffic Snake” campaign focused on pupils’ travel to school and proved that everyday mobility choices can contribute to reducing emissions and improving urban life. For one week in October 2024, more than 500 pupils at two primary […]

Why did you focus on climate neutrality strategies for small and medium-sized municipalities in the project?  Big cities, such as those that are members of the NetZeroCities network or participate in larger European projects, already have the capacities, knowledge and experience needed for developing local climate neutrality strategies.   In small and medium-sized municipalities, however, these capacities and access to specialised knowledge are often more limited. At the same time, there are many committed officials who are already working on climate […]