'WAKE UP!' project gathers partners around environmental literacy

The 'WAKE UP! project (Wider Approach to Keep Engaged citizens on sustainable Urban Policies)' took its first steps this week by bringing together all the partners from the different companies to align the communication strategy for the next two years.

The project aims to integrate technology and information in order to mobilise citizens for climate action, in a consortium that includes the Porto City Council, Porto Ambiente, Águas e Energia do Porto, the Porto Energy Agency, Porto Digital and CEiiA.

The initiative will test solutions to accelerate climate and energy transition in urban centres, based on five strategic lines of action: water, energy, mobility, waste and consumer habits. The aim is to involve citizens in climate transition by promoting changes in behaviour towards more sustainable practices, with a positive impact on reducing CO2 emissions and improving urban quality of life.

Mobile application

The launch session was opened by the Deputy Mayor of Porto, who highlighted the work being developed in this field through the Porto Climate Pact. Filipe Araújo emphasised 'the importance of working on environmental topics in a way that is closer to the citizen', and this is a key project because it 'responds to that challenge'. It was also an opportunity to recall the added value for the city of being part of the Cities Mission network, particularly in terms of access to important funding instruments.

WAKE UP! will take the form of a mobile application whose main objectives will be the customised capacity-building of citizens, based on their actual consumption patterns. It also wants every citizen to have access to a series of tips to promote active citizenship and contribute to a more sustainable city.

The 'WAKE UP! - Wider Approach to Keep Engaged Citizens on Sustainable Urban Policies' project by the Municipality of Porto was selected as part of the open applications for the NetZeroCities Pilot Cities, as part of the European Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.

Over the course of two years, the 'Pilot Cities' programme aims to turn 26 European municipalities into test tubes for new forms of decarbonisation, with technical and financial assistance from this European consortium, which is part of the Cities Mission. Porto will receive around EUR 600,000 to implement this project, funded by the European Union's NetZeroCities programme.