Amsterdam's pathway to climate neutrality : creating an enabling environment

Abstract

A vibrant European capital and a pioneer in climate-friendly solutions related to citizens services within its urban environment, the municipality of Amsterdam has agreed on a roadmap that aims to decrease the city’s CO2 emissions by 55% in 2030 and by 95% in 2050, compared to 1990, which is used as a reference year. In 2040, Amsterdam would like to be free of the use of natural gas altogether and it aims for all traffic to be emission-free as early as 2030. A package of measures to achieve these goals has been agreed upon and adopted by the Mayor and Cabinet at the beginning of March 2020. The so-called Amsterdam climate-neutral 2050 Roadmap includes targets and measures for all relevant sectors: the built environment, mobility, electricity, and industry and harbor. This chapter aims to describe the climate challenges of Amsterdam’s urban environment linked to the goals and targets set in the climate neutrality roadmap. Further, to break down the goal with a focus on the built environment and mobility sectors for the following reasons. The role the municipality can play in achieving the desired goals and the importance of citizen engagement coupled with the prospects of citizen-driven innovation and profit-sharing in the respective sectors.