The Municipality of Penteli, located in northern Athens, is a suburban municipality that combines urban neighbourhoods with important natural assets, including Penteli Mountain and extensive forest areas. With a strong environmental profile, Penteli is increasingly focusing on climate resilience, sustainable urban planning, and community engagement as it advances its transition towards climate neutrality.
Penteli participated in the NetZeroCities Twinning Learning Programme as a Twin City, paired with Bristol as the Pilot City. The Municipality was represented by Lefteris Levantis, Environmental Lawyer and Climate Transition Advisor. Through this programme, Penteli worked to learn from and adapt Bristol’s “Net Zero Investment Co-Innovation Lab” model, with a particular focus on innovative financing approaches for climate neutrality.
The Sustainable Development Unit SDU.AE4RIA of the ATHENA Research Center, under the leadership of Professor Phoebe Koundouri, supported Penteli throughout this process, together with Eleni Toli and Lydia Papadaki. The work explored how approaches such as leveraging municipal land as an investment asset and developing collaborative finance mechanisms could be adapted to the Greek municipal context and integrated into a tailored Replication Plan.
This initiative complements Penteli’s broader local climate strategy and its efforts to engage citizens and stakeholders in the climate transition. A key example is the Climathon co-organised by ATHENA Research Center and the Municipality of Penteli in June 2024, which brought local actors together to co-design solutions for climate resilience, awareness, and community-driven innovation.
Together, these initiatives strengthen Penteli’s governance, financing, and participatory tools, supporting the Municipality’s pathway towards climate neutrality by 2030.
Related resource:
Twining Replication Booklet: https://netzerocities.app/resource-4874
