Antwerp

Belgium

Mission city Pilot city
National Mission Ecosystem Belgium
Antwerp Mission City Label
Population 565k
City Area 204.5 km²
City active since June 2022

In December 2020, the Antwerp City Council approved the Climate Plan 2030. This climate plan embodies the comprehensive and leading climate policy of the City of Antwerp.

 

It establishes a framework and actions for urban policies in the field of climate mitigation and adaptation. The overarching ambition of all actions is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 50% to 55% by 2030 compared to the base year 2005. In the plan, the city bundles actions and ambitions in the field of energy-efficient living, energy savings in services and industry, renewable energy production, a sustainable heat transition and sustainable mobility. The plan also pays extensive attention to tackling flooding, a sustainable water policy, cooling and green-blue measures in the private and public domain.

Key Learnings

Left Bank towards Inclusive Climate Neutrality

Year 1 completed comprehensive data mapping to identify what information exists — and what doesn't — about apartment owners' financial situations. Two pilot condominium buildings were selected, and a survey achieved a 40% response rate (63% in one building), with 10% of owners agreeing to in-depth interviews for acceptance testing. Working with Impact Finance Belgium, CLIMACT developed two financing mechanisms built around "budget neutrality" — where post-renovation savings on energy and maintenance cover monthly repayments, enabling participation by owners with no upfront financial capacity. Two workshops with nearly ten financial players refined the mechanisms through expert input. The project now moves to field testing with target groups

Antwerp's Participatory Budget

The Participatory Budget is a tool for the City of Antwerp to give citizens autonomy to spend 10% of the city’s budget annually on projects that could enrich their lives. The main feature of their approach is the focus on deliberative practices based on face-to-face debate, consensus decision-making and reaching marginalized and hard-to-reach residents. It is an excellent case for cities looking to engage citizens in concrete ways in public life and decision-making, allowing also for multiple forms of engagement. The participatory budget fosters active, deliberative and connected communities of neighbourhoods, engaged and empowered in civic life. Citizens are equipped with an awareness of each other’s needs, what resources are needed to satisfy these needs and the competences to prioritize, plan and implement solutions in a collaborative way. 

FRONTIER H2020 project's final video

The video presents the ANTME Platform developed in the EU-funded FRONTIER project and the results of its demonstrations in three European pilot sites: TEN-T CORRIDOR – Oxfordshire, UK, ATTIKI ODOS MOTORWAY – Athens, Greece ANTWERP PORT – Antwerp, Belgium. Known as the Autonomous Network and Traffic Management Engine (ANTME), the smart collaborative platform is revolutionising traffic control by addressing traffic incidents – such as roadworks or collisions – across different modes of transport. FRONTIER is empowering a new era of integrated network and traffic management of the future, taking into account new types and modes of transport automated vehicles, towards the minimisation of pollution and capacity bottlenecks, the reduction of accidents, and the need to reduce the cost of mobility for all users (both citizens, public authorities and businesses).

EcoHouse Antwerp

EcoHouse is a physical one-stop-shop for households offering all city services for sustainable building and living run by the city of Antwerp. Its focus is on energy reduction and renewables, and has a programme focused on providing support and solutions to vulnerable groups. 
View all Antwerp Resources

Latest updates from the city

Pilot project spotlight

Antwerp's Pilot Activity: LINK Inclusive Climate Neutrality
Background The Left Bank district in Antwerp faces significant emissions challenges, with 71% of emissions originating from buildings, particularly from housing. Social housing company Woonhaven manages 44% of these dwellings, actively renovating them, but the remaining 56% owned by
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Visit Antwerp City Website Read Antwerp Climate City Contract Ghent City Profile (Twin City)

External projects

City involvement in related European initiatives