– A climate contract in a drawer cuts no emissions

Stavanger aims to reduce emissions by 80 percent by 2030. To achieve this, the municipality, the business community, and research institutions must work together. The goal is to develop solutions that reduce emissions while securing capital, expertise, and new jobs for the region.

"The Mission Label shows that the EU believes in Stavanger. Now we need to turn our plans into action," says Chief Executive Kjartan Møller.

"We have spent a lot of time planning and signing agreements. But a climate contract in a drawer cuts no emissions. We are now moving from discussing what to do, to figuring out how to achieve it together," says Kjartan Møller, Chief Executive at the City of Stavanger.

These statements were made when the region's climate contract partners recently met for their first working session.

During the discussions, partners focused particularly on joint applications for energy and transport projects on land and sea.

From signature to action

In 2022, the EU selected Stavanger as one of 112 Mission Cities. Eleven major businesses in the region have committed through a climate contract to invest in solutions to meet climate targets. However, the contract is only the starting point.

The meeting marked the transition from high-level plans to concrete projects. Through the NetZeroCities network, Stavanger will now receive both technical support and funding to implement these plans.

These 11 organisations are leading the work:

Lyse, Renovasjonen IKS, Felleskjøpet Rogaland Agder, Rosenberg Worley, the University of Stavanger (UiS), Rogaland County Council, Nordic Edge, DNT Stavanger og omegn, IVAR IKS, Simon Møkster Shipping, and the Port of Stavanger.

In addition, several other companies have signed letters of support for the initiative

The municipality as a door-opener

During the discussions, partners focused particularly on joint applications for energy and transport projects on land and sea.

Helene Gram, Program Manager for Mission City, emphasizes that the municipality is taking on a new role to help the partners succeed.

"The municipality's role is changing from being a planner to becoming a door-opener to the EU. We will use this contract actively to secure the resources our partners need to succeed with their measures," says Gram.

During the workshop, partners also learned from the Mission City of Leuven in Belgium, which has extensive experience in driving climate projects through public-private cooperation.

In addition, the University of Stavanger contributed insights on how research and business can collaborate for a greener region.

Utku Ali Riza Alpaydin, Senior Advisor at UiS, spoke about how research and the business community can work together for a greener region..

The municipality and its partners will now continue working on projects to apply for EU funding in 2026 and 2027.

A regional climate summit is also planned for October to follow up on the progress.