CAPABLE Capacity-building workshop
27 November 2025 – Hybrid event
More information and application

Achieving climate neutrality requires ambitious and effective climate targets and the ability to implement widely accepted policies. Many existing assessments focus narrowly on effectiveness, overlooking critical dimensions like feasibility and public perception. Furthermore, the success of the EU in reaching its net-zero goals depends not only on global and European policy action but also on the capacity of local and regional authorities to implement these policies. Cities and regions are at the forefront of the climate battle, yet they often face challenges in acting.

In this context, the Horizon Europe project CAPABLE, coordinated by the CMCC Foundation, aims to provide recommendations for designing socially and economically acceptable climate policy measures for 2030 and beyond. CAPABLE also provides insights on how local policy actors perceive their contribution to major EU strategies such as the European Green Deal.

Hosted online by the European University Institute (EUI) with expert contributions from the CAPABLE consortium, this capacity-building workshop will explore how EU climate policies work, how they intersect with local realities and how cities and regions can shape and support a just and effective transition. The workshop is tailored for local and regional policymakers, civil servants, and stakeholders engaged in climate and energy governance.

Programme:

14:00 – 14:10 | Welcome & Introduction

14:10 – 15:40 | Module 1: EU Climate Policies and Implications for Local Authorities

• Policy Assessment: What Works? (Kai Lessmann and Jan Minx, PIK and Marie Raude, EUI)
• The roles of cities in addressing climate change (Yann Françoise, City of Paris)

15:40 – 15:55 | Coffee Break

15:55 – 17:20 | Module 2: Perception and acceptability of Climate Policies

• Social Acceptability and Feasibility of Fit-For-55 Policies (Keith Smith, ETH Zurich)
• Local Policymakers’ Perceptions (Pablo Núñez Yebra, UAB and Alessia Casamassima, EUI)

17:20 – 17:45 | The role of Local Authorities in the European Green Deal and Competitiveness Compass

• Eugenia Mansutti, Eurocities

17:45 – 17:50 | Conclusions

Target audience:

Policymakers from EU institutions, national ministries, environmental agencies, industry executives, consultants, researchers and NGOs.

Organized by:

CAPABLE Project
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101056891.