Key insights

Evidence-informed co-creation is a vital process that helps bridge the persistent gap between scientific research and practical city-level climate action. By using structured co-creation methods, urban stakeholders can produce practical outputs, such as health indicators and decision-support tools, that are more relevant, usable, and likely to be adopted by local governments. Long-term collaborative platforms, exemplified by citiES 2030, create the necessary conditions for trust, experimentation, and shared learning. Embedding these co-creation processes into policy, research, and city governance is essential for strengthening the implementation and long-term impact of climate mitigation strategies.

Why this matters: the role of co-creation in climate action

Cities are at the forefront of addressing interconnected challenges, including climate change, public health, and social inequalities. Traditional top-down decision-making often lacks the technical capacity and local context required to tackle these complex issues effectively. While evidence on the health co-benefits of climate mitigation is growing, translating this into actionable policy remains a significant challenge due to limited resources and competing priorities. Evidence-informed co-creation brings together policymakers, researchers, and communities to jointly design solutions. This collaborative approach ensures that climate action is not only scientifically robust but also socially legitimate and implementable at the city level.

The citiES 2030 approach

The citiES 2030 platform serves as the national platform for Spanish cities participating in the EU Mission on Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities. Established in 2021, the platform brings together 19 cities, 8 academic institutions, 24 private sector organisations, and 9 civil society organisations. Its approach is rooted in mission-oriented governance, which emphasises cross-sector collaboration, active citizen participation, and continuous learning. By using participatory methodologies such as workshops and iterative engagement, citiES 2030 allows diverse actors to identify common priorities and develop solutions tailored to specific local contexts. This stable ecosystem fosters the trust required for cities to navigate uncertainty and accelerate their transition towards climate neutrality.

Co-creation of health co-benefit indicators and decision-support approaches with citiES 2030

The Pathfinder Initiative collaborated with citiES 2030 to identify health co-benefit indicators as a practical entry point for embedding health considerations into city climate action. This process followed four distinct phases. The first phase, relationship building in Spring 2025, established trust and aligned the scope of collaboration. The second phase involved scoping calls with frontrunner cities, including Barcelona, Viladecans, and Zaragoza, to understand local priorities and existing governance practices. The third phase consisted of a validation workshop in December 2025, where 15 proposed health co-benefit indicators were discussed for their usefulness and feasibility. The final phase in March 2026 reached a consensus on the prioritised indicator set.

This process achieved several tangible outcomes. Notably, a dedicated health paragraph was included in the commitments section of the Climate City Contracts (CCCs) for all Spanish Mission cities. This paragraph explicitly frames climate mitigation as a public health opportunity, positioning climate action as a health policy grounded in scientific evidence. Furthermore, the collaborative assessment identified five indicators ready for immediate use and six requiring further methodological development. The experience demonstrated that co-creation can produce credible, usable solutions while laying the foundation for sustained collaboration beyond individual project lifetimes.

Policy implications and recommendations

Effective climate action depends on governance processes that foster collaboration and shared ownership across sectors. Co-creation also strengthens public-sector capacity, helping institutions develop strategic and analytical capabilities that might otherwise be outsourced. To translate these lessons into practice, the report offers several recommendations. Policymakers should institutionalise co-creation throughout the policy cycle and invest in long-term platforms that sustain dialogue between cities and researchers. Cities are encouraged to strengthen internal cross-departmental coordination and prioritise a limited set of actionable, policy-relevant indicators. Researchers should facilitate iterative learning processes that combine scientific evidence with practical city knowledge and design tools aligned with real decision-making needs.

Conclusions

Evidence-informed co-creation is more than a participatory exercise; it is a governance strategy that enables cities to translate evidence into effective, equitable, and implementable climate action. The citiES 2030 platform illustrates how joint knowledge production can bridge the gap between research and policy. While models may vary across contexts, the underlying principles of collaboration and shared ownership are transferable and essential for accelerating ambitious, socially grounded urban climate transitions.