From 26–28 August 2025, Lyon welcomed the European Climate Horizon 2030 Days (ECHO), a Scalable Cities conference hosted by the City of Lyon and SPL Lyon Confluence. Nearly 200 participants, including European Commission representatives such as Mr. Philippe Froissard, city leaders, researchers, practitioners, and experts gathered for three days of panels, site visits, and discussions on accelerating climate-neutral urban transitions.
In his opening remarks, Lyon’s Deputy Mayor, Sylvain Godinot, reminded the audience that innovation is part of Lyon’s DNA. With more than 1.4 million residents, the city is facing challenges around urban planning, energy efficiency, and housing. But, concrete steps have already been taken like planting over 80,000 trees, building three new tramway lines, and expanding the cycling network by more than 200 km. SPL Lyon Confluence has been at the forefront of testing new ideas, while the Lyon 2030 initiative has brought together more than 180 organizations to co-design the city’s transition. Lyon’s progress is an example of what can happen when collaboration drives change.
That spirit of working together connected seamlessly to the introduction to Scalable Cities by Philippe Fournand. Since its launch in 2014, the initiative has grown into a network of 134 cities, supported by 28 Smart Cities and Communities and Positive Energy Districts projects and has created more than 500 replicable solutions. Along the way, the initiative has awarded 23 action grants (amounting to more than €1 million total), produced 22 expert reports, and organized 33 roadshows and 41 European events. Beyond the impressive numbers, Scalable Cities has built a real community, people cycling from Brussels to Amsterdam through snow, riding from Munich to Lyon, or even spending 34 hours on a train across Europe to attend the Smart City Expo. These stories are a reminder that climate action is about people just as much as it is about policy.
Hans-Martin Neumann (City of Linz) presented the Replication Impact Assessment, stressing that political backing, early stakeholder buy-in, fit-for-purpose governance, contextual adaptation and aligned funding are essential to upscale and replicate smart city solutions.
Reflecting on past challenges and the path forward, Frans Veerspek, Chair of the Board of Coordinators, stressed that the Scalable Cities initiative has provided essential capacity-building for cities to become mission cities, but that scaling successful pilot projects is still a major challenge. Cities need to act with urgency, secure long-term investment, and ensure citizen buy-in. If not, the climate transition is at risk of stalling. Panelists, including Philippe Froissard, Sylvain Godinot, Frederik Ceulemans, Frans Verspeek and Mimi Eelman, agreed that in order to succeed projects need to build strong alliances, scale quickly when opportunities arise, be honest about mistakes, and involve citizens as drivers of change rather than afterthoughts.
This theme carried into the discussions on livability of cities. The speakers, Thomas Osdoba, Christoph Gollner, Judith Cazas, Han Vandevyvere, Samuel Linzau and Lisa Enarsson, emphasized that climate neutrality goes hand in hand with quality of life, while also pointing out the value of early and ongoing citizen involvement, adapting to local contexts, and creating spaces that reflect community needs. The session on policy and livability was moderated by Veronika Cerna, whose facilitation kept the conversation focused on practical, citizen-centred outcomes. From parks designed with children’s input, to workshops that brought together conflicting groups, to platforms supporting residents already motivated to act, the message was clear - successful climate transitions put people at the center.
Carrying the momentum forward into the second day, participants explored Lyon’s Part-Dieu and Confluence districts, visiting energy communities, low-carbon mobility projects, energy-efficient buildings, and Positive Clean Energy Districts. Stops included the Gare de la Part-Dieu railway station, H7 building with its solar-powered roof, the Ydeal condominium where residents share self-consumed solar energy, the innovative 2226 building, and the Charles Béraudier and Mandela squares, which showcased integrated mobility solutions.
In the afternoon, attention turned to presentations on best cases from each journey. For energy communities participants explored Dijon’s Fontaine d’Ouche district from the RESPONSE project which has reduced building energy use while pioneering France’s largest collective self-consumption effort. Other sessions looked at building renovation challenges and digital twin approaches to decarbonize mobility in Barcelona, Lyon, and Copenhagen. Examples from +CityxChange, ATELIER, and GrowSmarter highlighted the value of close cooperation between local authorities and citizens.
Scalable Cities Action Grant recipients also took the spotlight. From Latvia, the Liepaja Smart City Roadmap showed the power of city-to-city learning through a mentorship with Valencia. The RECure project from Modena, Italy introduced a new governance model for renewable energy communities. The MOPED project from Debrecen, Hungary — drew inspiration from IRIS Smart Cities Living Lab in Gothenburg when developing a Positive Energy District Living Lab in a kindergarten. The day closed with World Café sessions, where participants exchanged experiences and co-designed next steps for scaling energy communities, clean mobility, efficient buildings, and Positive Clean Energy Districts across Europe.
The final day focused on scaling up Positive Energy Districts. Discussions covered financing, governance, and technical solutions, with inspiring case studies. Lugano, Switzerland, has issued around €400m in digital bonds, while Amsterdam’s Republica project combined advanced energy storage, local markets, and sustainable building practices to create a vibrant mixed-use district. In Évora, Portugal, sensitive retrofits in UNESCO World Heritage sites used photovoltaic glass, skylights, and shingles carefully designed to not be visible.
Speakers stressed the importance of building ecosystems that link municipalities, businesses, citizens, and investors. They also underlined the need for reliable data, long-term governance, and awareness of funding gaps. Dirk Ahlers of NTNU reminded participants: “A Positive Energy District is a process, not a product.” Carola Bosio of the ASCEND project highlighted three essentials for scaling—strong governance, clear understanding of costs, and trustworthy data. Bringing in a city perspective, Mimi Eelman from Amsterdam noted that Positive Energy Districts can improve urban living, but success requires robust procurement, spaces to test new solutions, and closer ties with start-ups.
The conference closed on an optimistic note - climate-neutral cities are achievable when citizens, municipalities, businesses, and researchers work together. The Scalable Cities initiative has provided opportunities to share knowledge, test innovative solutions, and build lasting partnerships. More than the numbers, it has built a vibrant and connected community committed to scaling solutions that make cities more livable, resilient and climate neutral.
On behalf of the Scalable Cities Secretariat, we extend our sincere gratitude to the Mayor of Lyon, Mr. Grégory Doucet, the City of Lyon, SPL Lyon Confluence and TWENTY Communications for their organisation and support of this conference. We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to the speakers, panelists, city representatives, and guests whose insights and participation made the event so valuable.