Jakobstad visits Reykjavík
Reykjavík has partnered with the Finnish city of Jakobstad in a European climate innovation initiative. To facilitate this collaboration, a delegation from the city visited earlier this summer.
This partnership stems from Reykjavík's designation as a "Pilot City," recognizing it as a model for accelerating carbon neutrality through innovative climate projects. In this capacity, Jakobstad serves as Reykjavík's twin city, enabling both to share climate expertise.
Learning about transportation and waste management
The purpose of the visit was especially to strengthen ties between the cities and encourage knowledge sharing and greater collaboration. The visitors learned about transportation and waste management in Reykjavík, toured the city center and harbor, visited Reykjavík City Hall, and toured the Hellisheiði Power Plant, where they were given a presentation on CarbFix operations. A guide from NetZeroCities also participated in the visit. Furthermore, a project team from the University of Iceland actively participated, along with specialists from the city.
The final part of the visit was a workshop where the goal was for the Jakobstad delegation to draft a list of transferable projects based on Reykjavík's experience.
Carbon neutral and smart cities
Reykjavík City has secured Pilot City funding, which is awarded to select participants in the European initiative for 112 carbon-neutral and smart cities. The funding supports the cities' goals to accelerate their journey toward carbon neutrality by 2030. NetZeroCities, an organization within the European Union, provides dedicated support for this initiative. While this specific project ends in August 2026, broader collaboration among European cities will continue.
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