Building Decarbonisation Action Network

This proposal builds further on the action plan from the Urban Agenda for the EU Building Decarbonisation Partnership. The Urban Agenda is an EU initiative in which cities and municipalities directly collaborate with the European Commission to tackle urban challenges and align EU level policy objectives with local implementation in thematic partnerships.  The Building Decarbonisation Partnership (BDP) addresses decarbonisation of buildings through a strategic integrated approach, going beyond individual buildings by encouraging the district/neighbourhood approach. It makes full use of the provisions in the revised directives: National Building Renovation Programmes as required by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the obligation to develop Local Heating & Cooling Plans as part of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED). The Building Decarbonisation partnership started in January 2025, consists of 24 partners and is coordinated by the City of Mechelen together with Green Building Council España.

In our URBACT action network, the project partners will unlock building decarbonisation investments by developing investment & financing concepts and setting-up local governance structures, this way contributing to the BDP action plan with practical experience from the ground. Each partner will focus on a specific building decarbonisation challenge responding to local needs (e.g. residential renovation in Baja county, DHC with waste heat from datacentres in Mechelen, public building renovation real estate programme in Cesis, …). At action network level, the whole range of building decarbonisation assets will be covered – residential renovation, public building renovation, district heating & cooling (DHC) infrastructure and integrated neighbourhood approaches.  The action network unites both frontrunner cities as Vaasa (Green Leaf Award 2026 winner) and Mechelen (Covenant of Mayors Award 2025 winner) as well as follower regions such as Cesis and Baja County. Its strong integration with the BDP strengthens transnational learning and uptake in EU and national urban policies through better regulation, better funding and better knowledge.

To complete our action network and to be part of the Building Decarbonisation Partnership, we are still looking for 2 to 3 cities from countries (other than Belgium, Finland, Latvia and Hungary) with similar ambitions to unlock local building decarbonisation investments . We are in particular looking for project partners willing to take the Lead position.