Three4Climate Provides Valuable Insights into Local Climate Action

This blog was coauthored by Linda Beyschlag and reviewed by Katja Eisbrenner.

The Three Presidencies for Climate: Think European–Act Local project is also known as the Three4Climate project. It connects six cities and six schools from Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia to jointly take action toward climate neutrality. The three countries held the trio presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) between 2020 and 2021. The European Climate Initiative-funded project provides a platform to the participating actors from Bielefeld and Radolfzell (Germany), Braga and Loulé (Portugal), and Maribor and Kranj (Slovenia) to share insights and best practices on local climate action.

The Three4Climate project released a survey aiming to decipher what people in the Three4Climate cities think about local climate action and its effects. The results give an impression of the participants’ wishes for the future and their willingness to contribute to improving their cities’ climate impact. The questions addressed employees of the cities’ administrations, local politicians, and various actors in the participating schools such as pupils, teachers, and parents. The survey had 792 entries.

Survey Results Identify Local Climate Actions

The survey results illustrate that participants from the six cities and schools in the three countries have a similar view on climate change and the effect of current lifestyles. The majority of respondents noted the need for behavioral changes and demanded local action. When asked for their personal opinion, almost all participants claimed that climate change is an important topic. They take action by trying to reduce carbon footprints by saving energy at home or in schools, by buying climate-friendly goods, and by being aware of their power as consumers.

Personal Contribution to Climate Protection

(Source: Three4Climate)

The survey also addressed the views of citizens on their municipalities and their options to transform urban infrastructure and develop corresponding policies. Most respondents agreed that reaching climate neutrality should be a priority in their cities. Regarding the local impact of municipal-driven climate action, people especially referred to cleaner air, overall improvements for the environment, and an increase in quality of life. They are looking for better and free public transport, a car ban in city centers with increased green areas, and more support for renewable energies. It seems that participants from all Three4Climate cities have a concrete vision of their future city and know what is needed to contribute to this target.

Need for Municipal Climate Action

(Source: Three4Climate)

Project Financing and Public Support Are the Biggest Challenges

Steering toward climate neutrality, municipal staff and other climate-related professionals in the six cities identified the need for instant action—mainly in the fields of local renewable energy generation, sustainable mobility, and energy efficient public buildings. All professional participants wished their city would connect more closely with initiatives at the government level to jointly work on climate action. As a consequence, multilevel exchange and vertical cooperation should be increased to encourage local climate action. The most relevant challenges in terms of implementing concrete measures were related to project financing and lack of public support as well as a capacity and knowledge deficit among relevant actors.

When specifically asked about climate financing, 30% of the participants would like to have more information on EU funding programs, whereas others (19%) would prefer more support from national funds. Hence, more support from EU and national entities to municipalities is needed to navigate the implementation process and reach the target of climate neutrality.

Focusing on the group of participants from the school environment, agreement is low on the question of climate neutrality being addressed in school subjects. General school engagement in climate activities ranked much higher. These results show that schools are often highly engaged in climate action, but climate topics are sparsely included in the curriculum. For more information, check out the Three4Climate Position Paper: Including the Whole School Approach and SDG’s into Everyday School Life.