Launch of New Report: Climate Justice and the Built Environment in Europe

ICTA-UAB presents the launch of the report Climate Justice and the Built Environment in Europe, developed within the framework of the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA). The report explores how structural inequalities shape urban climate outcomes and promotes pathways towards more just and inclusive cities.

Launch of New Report: Climate Justice and the Built Environment in Europe

Deeper Exploration of 3 case studies

• Date: Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026
• Time: 15:00 CEST
• Venue: online  (Register here)

The Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance (CNCA) supports leading cities in Europe and beyond to develop and implement policies that tackle emissions across the entire life cycle of the built environment. CNCA empowers cities to embrace these changes and chart the way to a more sustainable, just and equitable future.

Building on this work, this report provides a practical and analytical guide for local governments, civic organizations, and community partners seeking to understand and confront the structural inequalities shaping climate outcomes in European cities.

It examines how historic and ongoing systems of oppression operating from the national to the neighborhood scale have produced legacies of exclusion in the built environment that continue to constrain cities’ abilities to deliver equitable climate action. Drawing from a comparative analysis of Glasgow, UK; Barcelona, Spain; and Nantes, France, the analysis situates local challenges within broader political, economic, and institutional contexts that shape access to housing, employment, and climate-resilient infrastructure.

The report calls for transformative, justice-oriented urban climate strategies, including expanding tenant protections and rent stabilization, strengthening cooperative and non-profit housing models, ensuring inclusive access to retrofit and energy programs, and reasserting public control over key services such as transportation and housing construction. It also highlights the need to meaningfully involve marginalized communities in planning processes and to build stronger alliances between civic organizations, unions, and public institutions to advance equitable climate transitions.

Download the full report

Read the policy brief (available in English, French, Spanish, and Catalan)