The Hague

Netherlands

Mission city Pilot city
Netherlands National Platform
The Hague Mission City Label
Population 560k
City Area 62.3 km²
City active since June 2022

The Hague is known worldwide as the international city of peace and justice.

 

It is the political centre of the Netherlands and home to more than 200 different international organisations, such as the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration and over 100 embassies. This international profile is rooted in a tradition that goes back to the Hague Peace Conference in 1899.

 

Climate, peace, and justice are inextricably linked, which is why the area covered by the International Court of Justice now also extends to the consequences of climate change. In 2023, the court considered the question of what climate obligations states have, and what the legal consequences are if they damage the climate through their (in)action.

 

The Hague is also a lively and fast-growing city. The Hague currently has more than 560.000 residents, and this is expected to grow to more than 600.000 by 2030. This makes it the third largest city in the Netherlands and the largest Dutch city by the sea, with eleven kilometres of coastline. Our economy is home to approximately 70.000 companies, including a wide array of local, national, and international start- and scale-ups

Key Learnings

Multi-Region Assistance Project- Revolving Investment for Cities in Europe (MAR-RICE) - The Hague

“Energiefonds Den Haag” (ED) Fund is a city fund set up in 2013 in The Hague, under the Holding Fund “Holdingfonds Economische Investeringen Den Haag” (HEID). The aim of the ED Fund is to co-finance energy projects integrated in sustainable urban development plans with loans, guarantees and equity investments. Financed from national and European financing sources, its current size amounts to EUR 18.4 m. Source: https://www.fi-compass.eu/sites/default/files/publications/MRA-RICE%20case%20study%20The%20Hague.pdf

Policy Lab Session #2 - Finance and Investment

The second online Policy Lab will focus on Finance and Investment, with the Mission Cities of Valladolid, The Hague and Leuven presenting their challenges. This Policy Lab opens a space for exploring different policy scenarios and strategies to tackle city-level challenges in the field of Finance and Investment at EU level.

City Mini Webinar Series #3 | 31 May 2022

Introducing the work of the following Mission Cities: Mannheim – Germany Vitoria-Gasteiz – Spain The Hague – Netherlands Sofia – Bulgaria

Twinning Replication Booklet

Overview of Replications Plans submitted by Twin cities (Cohort 1, 2023-2025) The first cohort of the Twinning Learning Programme (Sept 2023 – May 2025) paired 56 Pilot Cities implementing 25 innovative climate-neutral activities with 37 Twin cities eager to replicate their approaches. Over nearly two years,cities engaged in a structured programme of online workshops, in-person visits, and facilitated exchanges, enabling Twin cities to closely follow pilot implementation and translate insights into Replication Plans tailored to their own contexts. The programme demonstrated that well-designed peer learning, anchored in real pilot projects, creates tangible outcomes. Twin cities developed Replication Plans across diverse areas such as sustainable mobility, energy decarbonisation, circular economy, and citizen engagement, while also contributing fresh perspectives that strengthened Pilot city efforts. The result is Europe’s largest peer-learning initiative under the Cities Mission, with 37 Replication Plans now paving the way toward climate neutrality across a broad range of local contexts.
View all The Hague Resources

Latest updates from the city

Pilot project spotlight
Visit The Hague City Website Read The Hague Climate City Contract Tallinn City Profile (Twin City)

External projects

City involvement in related European initiatives