Marseille awarded the European label “100 carbon neutral cities by 2030

The City of Marseille is proud to have been chosen to participate in the European program "One hundred carbon neutral cities by 2030". .
It was selected among the 377 municipalities that applied, announced this Thursday, April 28, the European Commission.

"This is a great victory for Marseille. We went straight to Brussels to get this victory, said Mayor Benoît Payan. It is the victory of a project, the victory of a will, of an ambition for a city that meets the challenges of the 21st century. It is also the victory of a city that succeeds when it comes together. Today, Marseille is taking another step towards a greener city, a city that meets the climatic, environmental and social challenges, a city where we can breathe better.

This collective victory is the founding act of a new era of ecological transformation that is opening up for Marseille. This joint project is a historic way to to make up for the delay accumulated over many yearsto fight against inequalities and restore a living environment that meets the expectations and needs of the people of Marseille.
This labeling is the reward for a project project led by the municipality with the support of a hundred or so institutional, associative or private partners who have invested themselves in proposing a program that meets the challenges. It will enable the city to carry out, through engineering and European subsidies, the environmental transformation projects that are necessary to Make the city a model territory for ecological transition. 

This labeling will give the City, in close collaboration with all its partners, the opportunity to work on concrete projects in the coming months on the issue of the return of nature to the city, on transportation, on the thermal rehabilitation of the city's buildings and public facilities, on the production of renewable and sustainable energy, and on citizen inclusion and innovation. This is in line with in the continuity of the municipal action on the greening of parks, gardens and schools, the renovation of the city's public buildings and facilities, the fight against air pollution, the promotion of soft mobility and waste sorting, and the protection of terrestrial and marine biodiversity.
What is the "100 climate neutral cities by 2030 by citizens for citizens" program? What are the stakes of this labeling? What are the City's ambitions to improve the health and well-being of its residents and preserve its environment? Cities cover about 3% of the earth but produce more than 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. They are therefore in the best position to initiate a carbon neutrality approach, by initiating public policies that enable a strict balance to be achieved between the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere and those captured by natural (forests, soil, sea) or artificial (CO2 capture and storage) sinks. Carbon emissions are the main cause of global warming and are the result of all human activities. In Marseille, nearly half of the emissions are caused by transportation and car use (1,031,605 tons of CO2 per year). But it is also our industries, our modes of production and consumption of energy as well as our consumption habits that are emitters. With the award of this label, the City of Marseille will be able to count on the support of the European Commission to lead the transition and accompany the transformation of the city. For a greener city, at the service of its inhabitants As a port city, located at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, benefiting from the Calanques National Park and exceptional biodiversity, but also a city with a high demographic concentration, with a very dense and concrete urban fabric, Marseille has all the assets and challenges needed to carry out this project for the benefit of its inhabitants. Because of its history, its identity and its geographical position, Marseille is in a position to lead the way in ecological commitment in the Mediterranean. Thanks to this label, it will be able to implement rapid and pragmatic initiatives to change the way the area is used, to improve the quality of life of Marseilles residents and their environmental impact by promoting access to public services and by deploying appropriate support measures. The Mayor of Marseille received the actors of the territory, partners of this candidature In order to thank them for their commitment to Marseille's bid to become one of the "100 carbon-neutral cities by 2030", Benoît Payan received more than 150 local stakeholders on April 12 at the City Hall. Marseille's ecosystem has a strong capacity for innovation and mobilization, and it was to relay the ambition of an entire city to the European Commission that Benoît Payan went to Brussels on November 29, 2021. During this trip, the Mayor of Marseille presented the city's application for the "100 climate neutral cities by 2030" label, which allows for the activation of exceptional funding and the engineering required to implement projects to transform the city. Marseille has chosen to work with its partners on transportation and mobility, thermal rehabilitation of buildings and public facilities, sustainable energy production, the return of nature to the city, preservation of the coastline and biodiversity, inclusion and innovation. To meet this challenge, the City of Marseille has co-constructed the bid project and obtained the support of numerous partners, institutions, major companies, associations and research centers, including the Prefecture, the Region, the Metropolis, Aix-Marseille University, the GPMM, the CMA CGM, the CCI, as well as France Nature Environnement, Cap au Nord Entreprendre, the Banque des Territoires, the GERES, the LICA and the Olympique de Marseille This mobilization also took place online, where all Marseilles residents were able to support the candidacy and thus carry, together, the ambition to invent a new model of interaction between the city and nature in Marseilles.