In recent years, the Municipality of Limassol has set high goals towards achieving climate neutrality through its participation in various competitive European programs, and other related actions, and CyI has supported the Municipality’s efforts, in particular in preparing its proposal to join the EU Mission for climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. Following a highly competitive process, in which there was overwhelming interest from 377 cities around Europe, Limassol was selected as one of the 100 'Climate Neutral and Smart Cities'.

Cities play a crucial role in climate neutrality, because although they occupy only 4% of the EU land area, they host 75% of its citizens. In addition, they consume over 65% of global energy and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions. As climate change mitigation is highly dependent on urban action, the EU has decided to support cities in accelerating their green and digital transformation.

The Mission aims to make the participating cities climate neutral and smart by 2030, in areas such as energy, waste management, transport, buildings, etc. with the aim of improving the quality of citizens. The 100 cities will have to develop climate contracts with an overall plan for climate neutrality in areas such as energy, buildings, waste management and transport, along with related investment plans. Through the "HORIZON EUROPE" program and the research and innovation program 2021-2027, as well as through other related funding opportunities, the EU will finance 100 cities in order to start innovation actions towards climate neutrality by 2030.

In recognition of The Cyprus Institute’s (CyI) contributions to this success, and also due to the important role CyI can play for the Municipality’s successful participation in the Mission, it was jointly decided that CyI will take on the role of scientific coordinator. This collaboration was solidified within the context of a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Municipality of Limassol and The Cyprus Institute, announced at a press conference held at the Limassol Town Hall on Friday, June 3^rd.

Within the framework of this strategic collaboration between CyI and the Municipality of Limassol, the Mayor, Mr. Nicos Nicolaides and his delegation including Municipality Secretary, Mr. Christos Efstathiades, and Municipality Engineer, Mr. Antonis Charalambous, visited the premises of The Cyprus Institute in Nicosia, on Tuesday, 2^nd of August. The Mayor and his two-member delegation were given a guided tour of selected labs and facilities at CyI, including the USRL, the Virtual Environment lab, and APAC Labs.

A discussion followed in the presence of CyI’s President Prof. Costas Papanicolas, CyI’s VP of Operation, Dr Michalis Yiangou, and CyI’s Assistant Vice President of Strategy and Development, Dr Konstantinos Kleovoulou, focused on the pillars of this on-going cooperation, as well as on the implementation strategy for achieving the goals of the EU Mission. Present at the meeting were also Dr Petros Kareklas, President of ‘Friends of The Cyprus Institute’ Association, CyI Managing Coordinator of the RIMS Office, Dr Michael Papadopoulos, and CyI Adjunct Prof. Thanasis Hadzilacos.

Before departing, the Limassol Mayor expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to visit and congratulated the CyI administration and researchers for their excellent research and achievements. He concluded that he is looking forward to a beneficial collaboration between the Municipality of Limassol and CyI, as well as tangible results regarding the EU Mission.