Brussels schepen van Klimaat Frederik Ceulemans sprak op de European Tech for Climate Action Conference over de cruciale rol van steden in de Europese klimaattransitie.
Hij benadrukte dat lokale besturen de sleutel vormen om Europese ambities om te zetten in concrete resultaten, door succesvolle projecten op te schalen en private investeringen te activeren.
Ceulemans kondigde ook de eerste Brussels Climate Week aan, die in 2026 in de Noordwijk zal plaatsvinden en Brussel moet profileren als "climate capital of the world."
L'échevin bruxellois du Climat, Frederik Ceulemans, s'est exprimé lors de la European Tech for Climate Action Conference sur le rôle crucial des villes dans la transition climatique européenne.
Il a souligné que les autorités locales constituent la clé pour transformer les ambitions européennes en résultats concrets, en développant des projets réussis et en activant les investissements privés.
Ceulemans a également annoncé la première Brussels Climate Week, qui se tiendra en 2026 dans le quartier Nord et devra positionner Bruxelles comme la "climate capital of the world".
Brussels Alderman for Climate Frederik Ceulemans spoke at the European Tech for Climate Action Conference about the crucial role of cities in the European climate transition.
He emphasized that local governments are the key to translating European ambitions into concrete results, by scaling up successful projects and activating private investments.
Ceulemans also announced the first Brussels Climate Week, which will take place in 2026 in the Noordwijk district and should position Brussels as the "climate capital of the world".
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The coming years will be crucial for European climate policy and the EU in general. More than ever, Europe must capitalise on and strengthen its position as a global leader in climate action. With the ‘Green Deal,’ Europe provided a strong package of measures concerning climate, renewable energy, biodiversity, nature restoration, and many other areas. But ‘what’s next’? Although significant progress has already been made, the shifting geopolitical reality, both within and outside the EU, is causing uncertainty. This uncertainty is penetrating our cities. After all, it is primarily the regions and cities that are responsible for the effective translation of ambitious policy frameworks into measurable results. The challenges cities must address in the coming years are gigantic. But turning the tide is also an opportunity for our local authorities.
The Tech for Climate Action aims to contribute to this, thereby exploring Europe’s competitive advantage. The focus is therefore on how the EU’s competitiveness and its sustainability goals can reinforce each other, ensuring Europe remains a place where growth and innovation can lead to greater prosperity and a sustainable future.
“Local policymakers are experiencing a critical moment. After years of extensive European funding for numerous pilot projects and experiments in our regions and cities, the key now is to successfully transition to the next phase.”
“This means that, in a time of budgetary difficulties, we must find ways to scale up and replicate these pilot projects to truly make a difference. This cannot be achieved with public resources alone; it requires the activation of private partners and private capital. Scaling up and activating the necessary financing is the cornerstone that will determine whether we can genuinely develop climate-neutral cities in the coming years.”
Trust and Consistency
85% of the buildings in Brussels were built before 1960. If you know that 60% of Brussels’ emissions are caused by energy use and heating in buildings, one understands that a large-scale renovation policy is necessary to bring public and private actors on board with sustainable and circular construction and renovation methods. Ambition alone is not enough. To make real progress, it is essential that policies and projects are implemented consistently in the long term. Only in this way can policymakers convince citizens and businesses to maintain confidence in the transition to sustainable and resilient homes over the long term.
In the session ‘Policy Lab: How to create efficient, circular and affordable housing,’ we discussed the government’s role in making our housing more sustainable. In that debate, it is important that we focus primarily on building new homes. Unfortunately, that well-intentioned rent ceiling is actually increasing the problems in the housing market. We are already noticing in our region what an unattractive housing market means for landlords and investors. Not only is the supply decreasing, but the much-needed investments in the renovation of the existing housing stock are lagging behind. Of course, this does not mean we assume that every landlord will renovate out of climate considerations or sympathy for his or her tenant. The housing market remains, above all, a market, so a ‘stick and carrot approach’ is needed to get landlords to renovate. This can be achieved by linking it to a financial benefit, where indexing is only possible upon renovation, or where insurance premiums become cheaper when a property has been sustainably renovated.
An example of the dashed trust of builders and renovators in the government is the suspension of the RENOLUTION premiums. Currently, more than 1,000 RENOLUTION files are ‘on hold,’ and many applicants are forced to wait, without clarity on the payment of their subsidies. This causes painful financial hangovers for many builders and renovators who were counting on this financial support from the government.
Within this context, we must dare to ask ourselves questions. Were the indicators for financial support truly sustainable? Was the support aimed at the right audience?
Because now, as policymakers, we are forced to break our promises, and this setback undermines the confidence of residents, businesses, and investors in climate policy and politics. Ambition can only work when it is also feasible and consistent in the long term, because without trust, there is no transition.
Driving Competitiveness and Sustainability
After years of interesting pilot projects and innovative experiments, the question remains how European climate policy can truly push towards major scaling and replication. In the coming years, the EU must invest at least €350 billion extra per year to accelerate the rollout of renewable energy, sustainable mobility, building renovations, and the electricity grid. Once again, regions and cities play the decisive role in realising the deployment of sustainable alternatives in the urban landscape.
“Cities and regions play a key role in rolling out sustainable solutions towards a climate-neutral future,” I emphasised in the session ‘Local Leadership: how are cities and regions driving competitiveness and sustainability.’ “Although there is, of course, a budgetary reality we cannot escape. Public funds are becoming scarcer, while the private capital that can truly accelerate the transition is hardly being activated. The challenge now is to activate private and dormant capital. We do this by making sustainable investments financially attractive.
Green procurement, green bonds, green skills, and successful pilot projects must bring competitiveness and sustainability together.
Furthermore, competitiveness and sustainability are not just about maximally activating private players; they are also about the great potential for social opportunities for, in our case, Brussels residents. Alongside fiscal and economic levers, we must also focus on the social levers in the neighbourhoods that bring people onto the path to a climate-neutral future. The so-called ‘Green skills’ is about educating and empowering people to help build the future. By investing in training and knowledge, from insulation to circular construction, we create jobs for people with diverse profiles. This not only advances the climate transition but also promotes social inclusion and economic vitality in Brussels.
One more thing…
What does European climate policy truly mean for regions and cities? What role do businesses, civil society organisations, and public and private actors genuinely play in making our city climate-neutral? How can pilot projects be scaled or replicated on a large scale? And what financial levers can be applied to make sustainability financially attractive? These questions will be answered next year during the first edition of Brussels Climate Week!
“Our world is in uncertain geopolitical times, where even an American president dismisses climate change as ’the biggest con-job ever.’ That is why it is particularly important now that Europe secures its role as a climate leader. Member States, regions, and cities must stay the course on the path to a climate-neutral future.”
By organising a Climate Week right here in Brussels, the capital of Europe, we are sending a clear signal that Europe is actively working towards a resilient future. But we know the path will not be easy.
That is why we must have these conversations with citizens, businesses, local policymakers, and other key actors. We must explore how regions and cities can become catalysts for repeating and scaling up sustainability projects.
A strong European regulatory framework is essential here, but it is regions and cities that ultimately implement these decisions in their neighbourhoods and streets. After all, it is about creating healthy, sustainable, and prosperous living environments for our people. And Brussels wants to demonstrate that next year. Brussels is already a city where experimentation and circular innovation write success stories. For example, the event will take place in the heart of one of the city’s most transformative neighbourhoods, the Noordwijk (North Quarter). In the coming years, this area will be dedicated to sustainable transformation, considering projects like the Ferme Maximilien, the new Park Central, the renovation of the towers, and the construction of the district heating network.
Connecting people through sustainable and participatory solutions is a huge opportunity in the transition to a sustainable city. This is how we build energy communities where schools or municipal buildings take on the role of drivers, with owners joining collective renovations or shared energy generation.
By organising the Brussels Climate Week in the Noordwijk, we primarily want to show how public and private actors make progress together and how pilot projects can grow into genuine game-changers. In this way, next year, we will make Brussels not only the capital of the free world but also the climate capital of the world.