The European Commission acknowledges the city's progress within the EU Mission for 100 climate-neutral and smart cities and highlights the growth of its local ecosystem in its support for the programme

The City Council of Valladolid, through the Agency for Innovation and Economic Development, IdeVa, took part from 27 to 29 May in the annual NetZero Cities conference held in Turin, where it shared the city's progress on its roadmap towards climate neutrality by 2030. The participation comes just after the European Commission expressly acknowledged Valladolid's move from the design phase to the implementation phase of its climate strategy.

This week Valladolid took part in the annual NetZero Cities conference in Turin, the leading European event of the EU Mission for 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030, to share its progress as a city committed to climate neutrality.

The city's presence at this forum comes at a particularly relevant moment, after the European Commission expressly recognised Valladolid's progress in its climate roadmap. In its assessment, the Commission highlights that the city has moved from the design phase to the implementation phase by incorporating new actions, strengthening monitoring mechanisms, integrating adaptation and mitigation, broadening the scope of emissions under review and consolidating broader governance.

It also highlights the growth of the local ecosystem supporting the Valladolid Mission. Of the 42 organisations that were part of this initial drive, the network now has over 210 members, thanks to the Mission Ambassadors project and greater involvement from the private sector.

In Turin, Valladolid City Council’s Environment Councillor, Alejandro García Pellitero, held a closed-door meeting with Patrick Child, the Commission’s Deputy Director-General for the Environment and leader of the Cities Mission, alongside other local politicians.

In addition to Valladolid’s Councillor for the Environment, the sole Spanish representative, other councillors from Swedish, Italian and Slovakian cities shared their cities’ progress with the European Investment Bank and members of the NetZeroCities consortium.

During the meeting, participants addressed some of the main challenges faced by European cities in delivering their climate action plans, with particular attention to financing, the scaling up of strategic projects and the role of cities as key platforms for investment and European competitiveness.

As part of the conference, Ángela Rivada, coordinator of Mission Valladolid at IdeVa, shared the city's experience in emotional communication initiatives aimed at involving and raising awareness among citizens around a common challenge: moving together towards a climate-neutral city. This communication and citizen engagement work is one of the central pillars of the European Mission.

Campaigns to engage citizens

Valladolid has developed several campaigns linked to sport, music, humour and magic, all with a shared goal: to convey that every citizen's action counts and that small everyday changes also help build a more sustainable city.

Among the initiatives presented in Turin, the Mission Valladolid Festival of Humour and Magic stands out. Organised by the City Council in November 2025, the event brought together around 5,000 people across eight civic centres in the city and at the Calderón Theatre. Over the course of a week, comedians and magicians used laughter as a common thread to bring the city's climate goals closer to citizens.

The campaign linked to the festival was promoted through local print and digital media, as well as through IdeVa's own channels and Instagram, reaching 220,000 users.

The citizen engagement generated around the festival helped gather concrete commitments related to saving water and energy at home, using bicycles and public transport and improving waste separation and recycling. In total, around 1,500 people formally joined Mission Valladolid by signing a pledge sheet under the campaign slogan “Every action counts”.

The festival also included a charitable component, allocating 30% of the proceeds to the Spanish Association Against Cancer.

Another project that has been shared with representatives from other cities in the region is the joint initiative being led by the City Council through “Conexión Deporte Valladolid”, which brings together the city’s eight most prominent clubs for the first time with the aim of promoting, coordinating and fostering local sport for its social, inclusive and sustainable value.

Valladolid is therefore continuing to strengthen its role within the European Mission, combining planning, implementation, public-private collaboration and citizen engagement to move towards