• Concern about climate change makes it necessary to propose actions that involve citizens.
• The list of 50 European initiatives includes 14 Spanish proposals aimed at environmental sustainability and resilience.

January 31, 2025. For several decades, climate change has been at the center of global debate. However, its growing impact and the recent energy crisis make implementing a green economy increasingly urgent. Prioritizing activities that promote greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction, the use of renewable energy, energy efficiency, increased sustainable transportation, the circular economy, and sustainable agriculture has become an economic and social priority.

Therefore, it is essential to involve citizens in collaborative actions, which has given rise to the pilot project "Communities for Climate" (C4C) promoted by the European Commission (EC) in collaboration with Climate Pact Ambassadors .

Through an open call, 50 European initiatives were selected—14 of which are Spanish—to:

• Encourage their proposals for citizen climate action.
• Facilitate the development and implementation of your innovative ideas .
• Achieving more sustainable and resilient neighborhoods.

Main themes

The “C4C” project promotes initiatives that revolve around several themes or areas of action:

• Nature and biodiversity, and their regeneration.
• Circular and resource-efficient economy.
• Renewable energies.
• Access to water and water resource management.

In Spain, 14 initiatives have emerged from different areas of the country, which have been selected by "C4C" to promote sustainability:

• Aranda Ambassadors : climate working groups and monthly sessions with representatives from the region (Aranda de Duero, Burgos).
• El Campillo de la Felicidad : reduction of biocides and synthetic fertilizers (Alhaurín de la Torre, Málaga).
• Fresnedillas for the Climate : intergenerational collaboration for climate change mitigation (Fresnedillas de la Oliva, Madrid).
• Climate Agoras : work and citizen education on biodiversity and climate change (Alicante, Murcia and Malaga).
• Urban(eat)a : harvesting edible fruits from urban trees and transforming them into products such as jam or olive oil (Catalonia).
• #EnergyForThePeople : renewable energy production through community solar installations and collaborative development of a vehicle charging network (Zamora, Salamanca, and Portugal).
• COMMUTE Granada : development of local energy communities to achieve photovoltaic self-consumption (Granada).
• Beautiful Energy : educating citizens about energy savings and providing training to help its members reduce their consumption (La Palma, Canary Islands).
• Jalea Luz : a renewable energy community that unites social ecology, renewable energy, and collaborative housing cooperatives by using the roofs of public buildings to generate solar energy (San Jerónimo, Seville).
• UBEK Energy Community : By uniting citizens, businesses, and public institutions, this project aims to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and large grid operators (Basque Country).
• Agroecology School : community learning about regenerative agriculture, permaculture, agroecology, and the circular economy (Vélez Blanco, border between Andalusia and Murcia).
• Almócita in Transition : creation of an energy community, community gardens, a composting system, and reforestation of Mediterranean forests to counteract rural depopulation (Almócita, border between Almería and Granada).
• Bikes for everyone: recovery and restoration of abandoned bicycles for use, a sustainable practice that promotes solidarity and mobility (Torrent, Valencia).
• Alcudia Valley Project : Through participation, the project focuses on improving water quality, treating and reusing wastewater from mining operations for extensive agriculture and game breeding (Alcudia Valley, Castilla La Mancha).

The innovative "C4C" project has covered eleven countries on the continent: Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain, and Sweden. However, climate issues don't only affect specific regions; they also support cross-border communities , from projects on the Italy-Slovenia border, exchanges between Spain and France, and collaborations between Hungary and Romania.