Lund

Sweden

Missionsstad Vänort Pilotstad
Nationellt uppdragsekosystem Sweden
Lund Mission City Label
Befolkning 130k
Stadsområdet 109 km²
Staden har varit aktiv sedan June 2022

The City of Lund has been an early pioneer in environmental work since becoming a pilot fossil-fuel free municipality programme in the 1990s. Considerable work has been carried out since then to decarbonise the energy system and increase active mobility.

 

Lund is the city with the highest share of cycling per-capita in Sweden and one of the highest in the world and it has made recent major investment in tram infrastructure to link a major new research, business and residential district in the north-east of the city to the city centre and its bus and rail infrastructure. Lund is one of the 23 Swedish Viable Cities and with this Climate City Contract it strengthens its ties to the European Union and Net Zero Cities. As such, the work to complete the journey to climate neutrality by 2030 builds on strong foundations and organisational capacity.

Viktiga lärdomar

CoGovernance - Lund ECT activity

Lund recognizes that only a small fraction of necessary climate actions fall under municipal control, highlighting the importance of multi- stakeholder collaboration. Building on a successful innovation district governance model, CoGovernance scales this framework citywide. The model enables structured collaboration across sectors using a three-zone engagement framework and stepwise local climate contracts. This governance and capacity-building project creates enabling conditions for future climate action rather than direct emissions reductions. This approach supports diverse stakeholders in co-creating roadmaps and portfolios for climate neutrality, making the model transferable to cities with varying capacities. The project builds on and complements Lund's Pilot City Project (CoPilot) on portfolio management. Objectives Adapt and scale the three-zone governance model citywide Develop new local climate contracts for stakeholder commitment Engage at least 40 stakeholders in analyzing climate opportunities Create collaborative roadmaps and project portfolios Conduct four peer-to-peer learning events with other European cities Perform international outlook on best practices (scientific and practitioner-based) Build replicable tools for multi-actor governance

CoPilot - Lund pilot activity

CoPilot Lund is developing a new kind of climate governance infrastructure an integrated portfolio governance model that maps, analyses, and steers the city's entire climate project portfolio — connecting innovation projects, investment decisions, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and financial feasibility into one coherent framework. Rather than managing climate projects in silos, the city is creating the decision-making architecture that allows it to identify which projects are ready to scale, where gaps exist, and how to allocate resources for maximum impact.

Multi-Actor Collaboration and Private Sector Engagement in the Cities Mission

This report explores how five European Mission cities - Lund, Leuven, Mannheim, Milan and Bratislava - are using multi-actor collaboration and private sector engagement as core governance mechanisms for advancing climate-neutrality implementation. Building on the first edition of NetZeroCities case work on multi-actor collaboration, the report extends the comparative analysis to a second set of city cases and focuses on the practical governance arrangements, instruments and engagement processes through which cities seek to mobilise companies and other non-state actors around Climate City Contract implementation.

Pioneering District Heating Solutions in Lund

In the city of Lund, in southern Sweden, a remarkable transformation towards climate neutrality has been unfolding. With a population close to 120 000 inhabitants, Lund has embarked on the ambitious mission of reducing its carbon footprint and pave the way for a sustainable future. In 2010, Lund took a significant step by committing to become a climate-neutral and fossil fuel-free city by 2030. The city's sustainability policy outlines ambitious targets, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 65 percent by 2025 and 80 percent by 2030, in comparison to 2010 when they started measuring emissions. A bold vision indeed, but Lund is determined to make it a reality. To achieve these goals, Lund has adopted critical measures in its heating system. The city started with district heating (DH) already in the 1950s. Operated by the city’s power company, Kraftringen, district heating accounts today for 90% of the city’s heat demand. A combined biomass heat and power plant Traditionally relying on oil, natural gas, and geothermal sources for district heating, the city sought innovative solutions. The turning point came with the establishment of a combined biomass-fired heat and power plant in 2015, which provided not only sustainable heating but also generated electricity. This smart decision allowed Lund to phase out natural gas and decrease its dependence on imported electricity. Building on the success of the first plant, Lund is now gearing up for a second combined biomass-fired power plant. This upscaled facility will not only enhance efficiency by replacing smaller plants, but also benefit local industries, like the sugar factory, by reducing their natural gas consumption. The decision to upscale was driven by both Lund’s climate commitment and the plant's profitability for the power company. While Lund made impressive strides towards climate neutrality, the journey wasn't without obstacles. Watch the Low Temperature District Heating in Lund Tour Video.  Technical challenges arose in securing enough biomass feedstock for the plant, although the city eventually managed to find it nearby. Political stability has enabled the development of this initiative, while the city's partial ownership of the power company proved instrumental in securing the necessary financing for the major investment. The initiative has already been replicated in several Swedish cities. In fact, such solutions are so advanced in the Scandinavian country that they are not even considered innovative. Low-temperature waste heat Committed to continuous innovation, Lund also embraced the COOL DH project, focusing on low-temperature district heating. This approach, suitable for well-isolated new buildings, allows Lund to lower the temperature of the district heating, reducing energy consumption. Waste heat, which is too cold for traditional district heating, can be utilised in these systems. Inspired by their sister pilot in the Danish city of Høje-Taastrup , which utilises waste heat from data centres and shopping malls, Lund harnesses waste heat from the University of Lund's research facility. Low temperature district heating has lower investment costs than traditional district heating. For cities that do not have DH available yet, opting for a low temperature grid can be faster and cheaper, as they can be installed with plastic pipes instead of steel pipes, allowing to skip several steps of deployment. The project started in 2019 and is currently under development. The solution is being built in the Brunnshög district of Lund, which aims to house and employ 40,000 people by 2050. Meanwhile, the city is already planning to replicate it in a nearby village of 2,000 inhabitants. The involvement of different city departments through a cross-sectoral task force has proved instrumental in the conception and implementation of the project. Lund's remarkable journey to climate neutrality through pioneering district heating solutions serves as an inspiring example for cities worldwide. With innovative technologies, strong partnerships, and unwavering commitment, Lund has laid the foundation for a greener and more sustainable future, one where climate-positive aspirations can become reality.

Pioneering district solutions in Lund

The city of Lund, in southern Sweden,has adopted critical measures in its heating system, as part of their efforts to achieve climate neutrality.
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