Maribor becomes the first city in Slovenia to sign a Local Green Deal

On 7 October 2026, Maribor became the first city in Slovenia to sign a Local Green Deal (LGD). The City of Maribor, the Regional Development Agency for Podravje – Maribor (RDA Podravje – Maribor) and Energap, the Energy and Climate Agency of Podravje, agreed to work together to reduce energy consumption in the city’s public buildings.

The TiCCA4DANU project initiated and supported the agreement. It was developed in close cooperation with project partner ICLEI Europe, which has already supported many similar agreements across Europe. Each signatory has defined responsibilities and has committed to report regularly on progress.

A shared commitment, signed in the Vinag wine cellar

The signing closed the first day of the international conference “Climate Change Adaptation: From Strategies to Action”. RDA Podravje – Maribor organised the conference at Hotel Habakuk, and it brought together more than 50 Slovenian and international experts and decision-makers.

“Podravje is highly vulnerable to floods and landslides as well as drought, so it is important that we work together on adaptation,” said Dr Vlasta Krmelj, Director of Energap. “The Green Deal brings institutions together, defines responsibilities and commits us to reporting on what we have done, what has worked and what we need to improve.”

Nataša Ritonija, Director of RDA Podravje – Maribor, called the agreement “a concrete step” towards connecting expert knowledge with the region’s needs: “We see climate change adaptation as an investment in people’s safety, quality of life and the long-term development of Podravje.”

Concepts for further agreements of this kind are already being developed for the city and the wider region.

European perspectives and regional evidence

Maribor Mayor Aleksander Saša Arsenovič and Rok Šimenc, State Secretary responsible for cohesion policy, opened the conference. Jan Dusík, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s DG Climate Action, addressed participants by video.

The Mayor described the LGD as an additional commitment to act faster on climate change. He noted Maribor’s progress in energy self-sufficiency, urban greening, sustainable mobility and energy renovation, as well as plans to use waste heat from the data centre and AI factory on Maribor Island to heat homes. Rok Šimenc said the Local Green Deal can “open doors to European funding”, provided regions prepare high-quality projects for the next financial framework.

The evidence base came from Assoc. Prof. Dr Naja Marot (University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty), who presented Podravje’s results in a national climate vulnerability study. Juliane Friedrich (University of Vienna, TiCCA4DANU partner) presented an international study on the region’s readiness for adaptation, and Dr Krmelj presented an approach to municipal action plans. A roundtable then discussed Podravje’s challenges and the role of Local Green Deals. Dr Philippe Tulkens, Head of the Climate and Planetary Boundaries Unit at the European Commission’s DG Research and Innovation, gave the European perspective.

The conference continued on 8 October with Podravje’s first Open Discovery Process workshop and field visits to local good practices. Read more in our article Making climate adaptation work in Podravje.