Latest news for selected city

The success of the competition was supported by an international jury of experts from science, politics, and practice who took on the challenging task of assessing policies that are each unique in scope, approach, and context. Among the Jury members, was our Head of Secretariat of the UBC Sustainable Cities Commission Agnieszka Ilola!

For the first time, the project consortium has gathered in Hamburg – the host city of the lead partner – Hafen City University and several other partners. The kick-off meeting, held on 24-25 September, has brought together the experts and practitioners representing regional energy agencies, municipalities, specialized networks, and academic institutions contributing to address the challenge of energy transition.

On 1–3 October 2025, over 70 urban leaders, climate experts, and changemakers gathered in Malmö, Sweden, for the annual Union of the Baltic Cities Sustainable Cities Commission meeting. Under the theme “Creating Climate-Proof and Nature-Positive Cities Together,” the event became a powerful platform for cities across the Baltic Sea Region to collaborate on urgent environmental challenges – and the solutions needed to meet them.

Throughout June 2025, UBC SCC organized a set of 3 training events to increase understanding of plastic pollution consequences and prevention methods for local authorities in the Baltic Sea Region. In these series, we have educated over 70 experts in sustainability, circular economy and climate!

Two new projects have begun in our Secretariat, where we look into achieving climate-neutrality: green mobility and climate budgeting process in the municipalities.

Mid-September is the perfect time to visit Turku, an ambitiously smart and sustainable city in Finland, working towards reaching carbon neutrality already in 2029. Turku is built around the river Aura – but what’s more important (at least where the international cooperation is concerned), it also stands on the shores of the Baltic Sea. Like in many other cities, for a long time Turku citizens have had a limited access to the sea due to different industries and port activities.

Interreg Baltic Sea Region Conference gathered 300 participants to inspire each other with past project achievements and ambitions met by the opening opportunities.

The webinar was opened by Tero Haahtela and Teemu Surakka from Aalto University, lead partner of the project, who briefly explained HUPMOBILE in a nutshell. The project, which started in 2019 and ended last year, aimed to provide holistic solutions to sustainable mobility in the Baltic Sea Region. It focused on sharing knowledge, developing existing solutions and processes, and improving stakeholder engagement.

The HUPMOBILE Minipilots Framework allows quick piloting of novel solutions in the urban space and acts as the enabler of experimental policy-making.

The CASCADE project brought together civil protection professionals and climate change adaptation experts to build urban resilience in cities and towns, as well as the overall macro–regional resilience. Among the nine partners of the CASCADE project, there were three UBC member cities (Turku, Liepaja, and Hamburg) and the Safe Cities Commission and the Sustainable Cities Commission involved.

Tools Currently, there are two tools available  - the interactive map of transport solutions in the Baltic Sea Region and Sustainability of Transport System- self-assessment tool. UBC cities are encouraged to test these tools to see how well they can address the local needs. Test the tools.  Reports 

As part of the HUPMOBILE-Holistic Urban and Peri-urban Mobility project, the Borough of Altona, representing Hamburg, developed a concept for “last mile” logistics. The term “last mile” refers to distribution within an urban space, especially parcel delivery with cargo bikes.