Climate discussion with the innovation community
Reykjavík City invited leading innovation organizations to a discussion at Gróska on Thursday, March 5. The Climate City Contract was presented, highlighting key opportunities and challenges that require creative thinking and advanced technology.
Reaching the City's carbon neutrality goals by 2030 takes more than ambition - it requires strong partners with the courage to develop new solutions that have a real impact. The City and innovation community had the chance to exchange ideas and explore further collaboration opportunities, with the guiding principle of building partnerships based on concrete goals, measurable impacts and a shared vision for the future.
The mayor opened the meeting
Mayor Heiða Björg Hilmisdóttir opened the meeting. She talked about how innovation thrives in Reykjavík, where many new ideas have become a reality, and how the innovation community and the city could work together to achieve carbon neutrality.
Kamma Thordarson from Reykjavík City presented the Climate City Contract and discussed how the innovation community embraces ideas and builds community, and how together we can create fertile ground for ideas to grow.
Brief presentations from the innovation community then followed, including speakers from Visit Reykjavík (Inga Hlín Pálsdóttir), University of Iceland's School of Engineering and Natural Sciences (Ásta Olga Magnúsdóttir), Hringiða (Haraldur Bergvinsson), Fab Lab (Þóra Óskarsdóttir) and Innovation Week (Melkorka Sigríður Magnúsdóttir).
Energy Cluster executive director Rósbjörg Jónsdóttir then joined a fireside chat with Iceland Ocean Cluster project manager Oddur Ísar Þórsson, moderated by meeting chair Hafdís Hanna Ægisdóttir, director at the University of Iceland. The program concluded with participants joining a workshop to discuss pressing questions related to the 2030 carbon neutrality goal, generating many promising ideas and exploring various collaboration opportunities. There is much to gain by developing solutions that speed up our path to a carbon-neutral future.
