Meeting of Chief Executive Directors of EU capitals focuses on climate action

Dietmar Griebler, Chief Executive Director of the Vienna City Administration, and Vasileios Bokos, Secretary General of the City of Athens

The Chief Executive Directors of European Capital Cities held their annual meeting this October in Athens, the cradle of European democracy. Vasileios Bokos, Secretary General of the City of Athens, welcomed colleagues from about 20 European capitals for talks on "Empowering Cities: Leading the Way to Urban Climate Resilience".

The conference started with a warm reception at the Maria Callas Museum, where Bokos welcomed the participants and stressed the importance of transnational cooperation in overcoming the challenges urban areas face due to climate change. The Mayor of Athens, Professor Haris Doukas, agreed that cities play a crucial role in combating climate change, and expressed his hope that the high-level exchange would produce new insights. The experts from Athens opened the agenda by presenting local projects on digital innovation and climate measures, including initiatives such as the Athens tree-planting programme and the Office for Energy Poverty.

Presentations and discussions

The Chief Executive Directors of European Capital Cities in Athens.

As Chief Executive Director of the Vienna City Administration, Dietmar Griebler presented Vienna's Smart Climate City Strategy and its flagship projects "Phasing out Gas", the promotion of photovoltaics, activities for green mobility, and measures for citizen participation, such as the Vienna Climate Team.

Experts from other cities gave insights into their best practices and innovative solutions. Nicosia promotes "Smart and Sustainable Urban Development", while Dublin has launched a programme for "Neutrality through Circular Economy", and Madrid has drawn up a comprehensive "360 Strategy". Cities like Budapest, Brussels, Riga, Vilnius, Stockholm or Ljubljana presented initiatives designed to promote climate adaptation, digital innovation and sustainable mobility.

In their debates, the experts addressed critical issues like the need for sustainable urban development, ways to harness modern technology to counter the climate crisis, measures against energy poverty, better water storage and retention, as well as the importance of using data in the right way.

As this year's host, Secretary General Bokos concluded the conference together with Vienna's Dietmar Griebler - the main initiator of the Chief Executive Director's Meetings - and his colleague Peter Teesink from Amsterdam, who will host the 2025 meeting. They gave a very positive summary of the Athens conference, emphasising again that the consequences of climate change affect all cities, and welcoming the opportunity to exchange experience on both successful and - in some cases - less effective measures. There was general agreement that international exchange at all levels is essential for the overarching goal all cities share: maintaining high quality of living for the local population.