Umeå

Sweden

Mission city Pilot city
Sweden National Platform
Umeå Mission City Label
Population 134k
City Area 66.5 km²
City active since June 2022

The City of Umeå has a strong and long-term commitment to climate neutrality by 2030 with net zero GHG emissions.

 

Through leveraging our extensive collaborations with the universities, research institute, private and public sector, civic society, and citizens in the city we are determined to make the transition a reality – by and for all. The main objective of this document is to clarify that Umeå with the City and all other stakeholders are fully committed to achieve the ambitious target of being climate neutral by 2030 as defined by the EU mission and therefore we joined the mission in order to improve and enhance the work needed to reach the goal – in line with that we now submit the first version of Umeå CCC – Climate City Contract. Umeå – unruly and kind, informed, cultural, and outdoorsy, Umeå is the largest city in northern Sweden, part of Sápmi and the Arctic.

 

With continuous population growth since the 1960’s, Umeå now has 133 000 inhabitants characterized by words as unruly and kind, and where almost 40 000 students and 14 000 companies make the city young and vibrant. In the knowledge city Umeå, excellence research and education are conducted at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Umeå university – notably the place for the world’s highest ranked education at Umeå Institute of Design2. Due to its closeness to sea, coastlines, forests, and mountains, Umeå is an outdoorsy and sporty city, where the snowy winters and sunny summers give opportunities for all kinds of activities.

 

Umeå is known for being European capital of culture in 2014, for being situated in the region top ranked in the European Social Progress Index3 as well as being the municipality providing highest budget for culture per capita in Sweden

Key Learnings

Building Capacity for Transition Leadership in Umeå

Umeå aims to transform the governance capacity of the city by testing new tools, processes, and relationships that enable coordinated, adaptive, and systemic climate action across sectors and institutions. A core element of this initiative is the training and capacity-building programme Leading Transition Together - a platform for cultural and institutional transformation, one that redefines how cities can build enduring capacity for change from within.

Governance Innovation and Implementation in the Cities Mission: Anticipatory Governance in City Climate Planning and Policy

This report examines how four European Mission cities Umeå, Tampere, Valencia, and Parma are integrating anticipatory governance approaches into their climate planning to better navigate uncertainties while pursuing climate neutrality. As participants in both the EU Climate- Neutral and Smart Cities Mission and the Adaptation Mission, these cities are developing innovative strategies to enhance resilience and adaptability in their climate transition work. Anticipatory governance encompasses forward-looking approaches that help cities prepare for multiple possible futures rather than simply reacting to events as they occur. The report highlights three key components of anticipatory governance that cities are implementing to varying degrees: Strategic foresight and scenario planning: Developing plausible future scenarios to test the robustness of climate strategies under different conditions. Risk and vulnerability assessment: Identifying and evaluating potential hazards and vulnerabilities, and assessing how planned climate actions might be affected by future disruptions. Adaptive management: Establishing flexible governance structures with monitoring systems, trigger points, and contingency plans that allow for course corrections as conditions change. The comparative analysis reveals that while all four cities have developed comprehensive frameworks to guide their climate action, they are at different stages of maturity in implementing anticipatory governance practices. All cities have conducted risk and barriers assessments as part of their Climate City Contract (CCC) development, primarily focusing on economic, financial, and social risks. However, more complex risks such as geopolitical disruptions or systemic cascading effects are not yet fully integrated into planning processes. Key findings include: Scenario-based approaches are embedded in all cities' climate planning, though with varying degrees of sophistication and application. While monitoring processes are well-developed across all cities, formal adaptive management practices are not yet common. All cities face similar challenges: limited human and financial resources, data gaps and reliability issues, communication difficulties, and institutional fragmentation. Cities are increasingly recognizing the value of integrating forward-looking approaches (more traditionally associated with climate adaptation) into mitigation planning to build more resilient transition pathways. The report identifies several opportunities for enhancing anticipatory governance: Establishing more robust adaptive governance structures with clear review mechanisms and trigger points Developing methods to identify "no-regret" climate mitigation actions that remain viable across multiple future scenarios Implementing diverse and complementary solutions rather than relying on singular strategies Strengthening cooperation across cities and multi-level governance to share knowledge and expertise

City Mini Webinar Series #2 | 24 May 2022

Introducing the work of the following Mission Cities: - Umeå – Sweden - Izmir – Turkey - Turku - Finland - Milan – Italy
View all Umeå Resources

Latest updates from the city

Pilot project spotlight

Umeå's Pilot City Activity: The North Star
Germany's Pilot City Activity CoLAB – Committed to Local Climate Action Building Copyright: Fredrik Larsson Description of activities The City of Umeå will pilot a new way of working holistically with systemic
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Visit Umeå City Website Read Umeå Climate City Contract Luleå City Profile (Twin City) Prague City Profile (Twin City) Würzburg City Profile (Twin City)

External projects

City involvement in related European initiatives