Ten Steps: Towards a Carbon-Neutral City

The City of Porto reaffirmed its leadership in climate transition by hosting, at the Porto Innovation Hub, the event “Ten Steps: Towards a Carbon-Neutral City.” The initiative took place within the scope of the Be.Neutral project, which aims to accelerate urban decarbonization through collaboration between municipalities, companies, and scientific institutions in Northern Portugal. 
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​​​​​The Be.Neutral consortium brings together eight cities — Porto, Matosinhos, Vila Nova de Gaia, Braga, Guimarães, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Viana do Castelo, and Oliveira de Azeméis — that share knowledge on diverse processes and approaches in their journey toward Carbon Neutrality 2030. Among the event’s highlights was the presentation of the Reference Plan for the Decarbonization of the City of Porto, which consolidates policies, projects, and coordination mechanisms that may serve as a model for other participating cities. This plan embodies an integrated approach to emission reduction and community engagement in the climate transition. 

The event “Ten Steps: Towards a Carbon-Neutral City” also featured a roundtable on best practices in decarbonization, moderated by Adeeb Sidani from Porto Digital, with contributions from Bernardo Ribeiro (CEiiA), Helder Costa (Porto Ambiente), Rui Pimenta (Agência de Energia do Porto), and Fernando Rocha (Águas e Energia do Porto). The session emphasized the importance of intermunicipal cooperation, technical knowledge sharing, and the exchange of best practices among municipal teams. 

A key moment was the presentation of the booklet “10 Steps: Towards a Carbon-Neutral City,” which systematizes the reference plan for decarbonization. Under the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), the Be.Neutral project aims to reduce 600,000 tonnes of CO₂ by 2030, contributing to more sustainable cities and generating an estimated €60 million in savings through improved energy efficiency and reduced resource consumption.