A climate-neutral urban Spain: the role of the Mission in advancing the transformative capacity of Spanish cities

Urban areas play a central role in achieving climate neutrality, yet their capacity to drive systemic change remains uneven. The EU Mission on 100 Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 seeks to accelerate urban transitions through Climate City Contracts (CCCs), but it remains unclear whether cities possess—or can develop—the governance capacities required. Using the Urban Transformative Capacity (UTC) framework, this paper examines the Spanish experience as an early frontrunner in Mission implementation. Drawing on qualitative evidence from seven cities, the study shows that the Mission has stimulated new forms of leadership, coordination, and experimentation, but these procedural advances often remain fragile and weakly institutionalized. Capacities related to reflexivity, learning, and civic engagement progressed more slowly, constrained by administrative inertia, resource limitations, and the procedural urgency embedded in mission delivery. At the same time, intermediaries such as CitiES2030, universities, and civil servants acted as relational infrastructures that enabled coordination and learning under pressure, while urgency and the inevitable reliance on consultants frequently reduced ownership and opportunities for institutional consolidation. These dynamics reveal a core tension in mission-oriented governance: the same architectures that enable rapid mobilization can also reinforce externalization and short-termism, limiting long-term capability-building. The paper argues that embedding capacity-building as a sustained component of mission design—prioritizing process quality, reflexivity, and continuity—will be essential for translating short-term mobilization into enduring transformation within urban sustainability transitions.