Let’s meet SPARKLE’s cities: Guimarães

Known as the “birthplace of the Portuguese nation”, Guimarães stands out for its rich historical and cultural heritage, recognised by UNESCO, and its strong commitment to sustainability. The city has made significant progress in its climate and energy transition, having been awarded the title of European Green Capital 2026 and selected as a Mission City under the EU’s Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.

How is Guimarães advancing the green transition?

The municipality has adopted an integrated approach to the climate transition, built around three key pillars: participatory governance, technological innovation, and the sustainable management of natural resources.

The creation of the Guimarães Governance Ecosystem 2030 and a political commitment signed by all local parties have paved the way for the city’s green transformation. Guimarães’ Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP) and Climate City Contract (CCC) set ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency, and promoting renewable energy.

At the same time, the city is investing in sustainable urban regeneration, circular economy initiatives, and green mobility, through actions such as:

• Establishing low-emission zones, encouraging soft mobility, and implementing a “15-minute city” strategy
• Undertaking energy rehabilitation projects in municipal buildings and social housing
• Developing green and blue infrastructure to enhance climate resilience, including urban ecological corridors and river restoration to mitigate heatwaves and floods
• Creating the Environmental Monitoring Platform, which provides real-time data on air quality, energy consumption, and climate indicators.

Citizen engagement is a core part of this strategy. The municipality launched the Guimarães 2030 initiative to reinforce commitments under the CCC and its investment plan. This initiative actively involves the local community in shaping public policy and has established the Guimarães Climate Pact, encouraging businesses, institutions, and citizens to commit to climate neutrality goals.

What challenges does the city face?

Despite notable progress, Guimarães still faces several challenges in implementing its climate and energy strategy. Three main issues stand out:

1. Climate resilience and adaptation to extreme weather – The city is experiencing increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves and droughts, putting pressure on water resources and residents’ health. Guimarães is also vulnerable to urban flooding, which calls for improved drainage systems and soil renaturation efforts.
2. Decarbonising the construction sector and improving energy efficiency – Energy rehabilitation of municipal and private buildings remains a key challenge, particularly due to financial constraints and difficulties in attracting private investment. Additionally, expanding low-emission zones requires balancing traffic restrictions with the provision of sustainable transport alternatives.
3. Governance and citizen participation – While efforts have been made to engage the public, encouraging behavioural change—especially in energy efficiency and sustainable consumption—remains difficult. The city aims to further consolidate a collaborative governance model, ensuring environmental policies are co-designed with citizens and key economic actors.

Why has Guimarães joined SPARKLE? What is its role and what are the expectations?

Guimarães joined SPARKLE to enhance and refine its climate strategies while benefiting from the knowledge and experience of an international network of experts and peer cities.

The municipality sees SPARKLE as an opportunity to adopt innovative planning tools, such as the EUCityCalc modelling tool, share best practices, and strengthen the skills of municipal staff and policymakers through training and mentoring programmes.

Guimarães is the lead city for the Local Governance pillar. In collaboration with Energy Cities, it will organise workshops to assess the capacity-building needs of European municipalities, co-develop training modules, and host the SPARKLE Summer School. The city will also disseminate knowledge and best practices to Portuguese municipalities and international networks.

The Landscape Laboratory (Laboratório da Paisagem), a strategic partner of the municipality, will provide technical and scientific support to SPARKLE’s activities. Founded in 2014 by the Municipality of Guimarães in partnership with the University of Minho and the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, this research and innovation centre specialises in sustainability. It will contribute to the development of training content and support the implementation of climate strategies under the project framework.

The participation of Guimarães and the Landscape Laboratory in SPARKLE highlights the city’s ambition to become a role model for the green transition, promoting innovative, inclusive, and sustainable governance at both local and European levels.