Turku

Finland

Mission city Pilot city
National Mission Ecosystem Finland
Turku Mission City Label
Population 207k
City Area 601.0 km²
City active since June 2022

Turku aims to be carbon neutral by 2029 and climate positive from then onwards. The target of carbon neutrality by 2029 was decided by the City Council in the City Strategy on 16 April 2018. On 11 June 2018, the City Council approved the climate plan that adheres to the shared European (SECAP) model.

 

The climate targets were further reinforced when the City Council decided on the revised city strategy on 14 February 2022 and the updated City of Turku Climate Plan was unanimously approved by the City Council on 16 May 2022. Over 80 experts from both the City Group and important stakeholders participated in the process of updating the Climate Plan and are also involved in the eight thematic advisory groups guiding the work.

Key Learnings

From the triangle of INaction To the wheel of ACTion - Nantes and Turku ECT activity

INTACT addresses a key barrier to climate action: mutual blame and inaction between citizens, businesses, and government. By reframing this “triangle of inaction, ” Nantes and Turku aim to build trust and shared ownership of climate solutions. Through education, co-creation, and targeted engagement of youth, businesses, and civil servants, the pilot fosters cross-sectoral collaboration and civic empowerment. The result is a dynamic ecosystem for transformation, rooted in mutual accountability. Objectives Mobilize businesses, citizens, and administration around climate goals Raise awareness and build climate literacy Support youth-led and business-led initiatives Build inter-actor trust and shared responsibility Create replicable models for collaborative action ECT = Enabling City Transformation

1.5 DEGREE - Turku pilot activity

Turku has made substantial progress toward its 2029 carbon neutrality goal, but reaching the last stretch requires deeper coordination with businesses, residents, and civil society. The 1.5-Degree City pilot strengthened multi-actor climate action by creating an online monitoring platform, catalysing business engagement through the Climate Team network, and using behavioural science to encourage sustainable lifestyles.

City Mission Governance, Coordination and Integration

This report examines how mission governance supports city-level climate neutrality transitions across four European Mission Cities: Umeå, Oslo, Turku and Aachen. It focuses on the internal governance arrangements, coordination mechanisms, roles, mandates and institutional practices through which municipalities organise themselves to deliver ambitious climate-neutrality commitments. Across the four cases, mission governance is understood not as a single organisational model, but as a set of structures, routines and ways of working that connect long-term political commitments with everyday administrative practice, departmental implementation and wider city partnerships.

Social Innovation & Urban Mobility webinar: Insights from Turku & Zaragoza | 29th April 2025

Please find the webinar recording here. This is the second session of a webinar series that aims to explore the transformative power of people-based solutions and social innovation in addressing urban challenges. Designed for cities and urban stakeholders, it highlights practical tools, inspiring case studies, and resources from NetZeroCities to foster collaborative, community-driven approaches. Each session provides a platform for learning, discussion, and actionable insights. This session was a collaboration between the Social Innovation Learning Programme, the Community of Practice, the CIVITAS Initiative and the ELABORATOR project. Following an introduction to social innovation and the NZC Mobility Domain Working Group, two case studies were presented: Nudging 1.5 degree life in Turku, Finland: e-bike pilot, co-creation, and nudge playbook Zaragoza, Spain - ELABORATOR: Streets experiments at one of the densest education districts of Europe Speakers: Sigrid Ehrmann, Head of Horizon Lab, EIT Urban Mobility Paula Salo, Professor, Division of Psychology, University of Turku Felipe Del Busto, Project leader, Sustainable urbanism team, CIRCE Centro Tecnológico Tamami Komatsu Cipriani, POLIMI Facilitators: Helena Suarez Groen and Charlotte Burnod (LGI Sustainable Innovation)

Governance Innovation and Implementation in the Cities Mission - Multi-Level Integration

This report examines multi-level governance integration within the EU Cities Mission, highlighting how cities utilize collaborative frameworks across governance tiers to support their climate neutrality goals. Analyzing the cities of Aachen, Kozani, and Turku, the report illustrates diverse governance approaches influenced by distinct national contexts. Aachen leverages regional frameworks and municipal networks within Germany’s federal structure, Kozani navigates centralized Greek governance primarily through European funding, Turku employs Finland’s decentralized governance and substantial fiscal autonomy, actively engaging in international city networks. Common challenges identified include fragmented funding, limited administrative and technical capacities, regulatory barriers, complex stakeholder engagement, and difficulties accessing competitive financing. Cities have responded with hybrid financing strategies, enhanced cross-sectoral collaboration, and integrated governance platforms. The report concludes that strengthened multi-level governance alignment, sustained funding, robust technical support, clear regulatory frameworks, and dynamic stakeholder engagement are essential. Recommendations focus on structured intergovernmental dialogue, municipal capacity building, and the expansion of integrated financial instruments to effectively achieve urban climate neutrality objectives.

One-Stop Platform for Climate Communication

Many cities face a common challenge: how to communicate complex climate and sustainability topics effectively and clearly. To address this issue, Turku developed and launched a new multilingual digital platform in February 2025 on the municipal website. It's a digital space that serves multiple audiences (residents, businesses, city staff, and leadership) and provides tailored content and tools on climate and nature topics to different users. Additionally, the city implemented the Climate Changemakers Campaign in Spring 2025. It was the first joint initiative co-created by the City of Turku and its Climate City Contract partners to communicate about climate action in different workplaces in an inclusive way. The campaign also helped to introduce the digital platform to a broad audience. Both initiatives have reached a large audience and fostered collaborative climate communication between the city and its stakeholders.

Turku's Climate Team

Turku's Climate Team is a network aimed at companies and communities in the Turku region. It aims to make the fight against climate change visible, effective and communal. The Climate Team started as campaign-based activity in 2018 and got more formalised network structure in few years. It shares information about climate work and organizes regular events. In 2024, there are more than 130 local operators from various fields. The Climate Team's captain is a Finnish ex-hockey player Saku Koivu. The Climate Team can be joined by companies, communities and organizations of all sizes that do climate actions and operate in the Turku region. The effectiveness of the climate action is evaluated together with the city's climate experts, and it must genuinely reduce greenhouse emissions, either directly or indirectly. In addition, the climate actions should implement responsibility, promote sustainable innovations and business, and increase the opportunity for citizens to participate in the mitigation of climate change.
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Latest updates from the city

Pilot project spotlight
Visit Turku City Website Read Turku Climate City Contract Aalborg City Profile (Twin City) Fundão City Profile (Twin City) Taurage City Profile (Twin City)

External projects

City involvement in related European initiatives