Can cultural and creative cities be low-carbon? Greenhouse gas emissions in European Union cities

Cultural and creative cities (CCCs) have become an important model of urban development, yet their sustainability implications remain unevenly understood. Existing research has often examined individual cultural and creative components, while recent studies show that their developmental outcomes are heterogeneous and place-dependent. In this context, the link between integrated CCC configurations and climate-related environmental performance remains underexplored. This study examines the association between CCC configurations and per-capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 112 European Union cities by linking the European Commission’s Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy dataset. Hierarchical regression models assess CCCs at macro, meso, and micro levels. The results show that overall CCC performance is positively associated with per-capita GHG emissions after controlling for economic affluence and heating demand. At the meso level, Cultural Vibrancy and Enabling Environment exhibit positive associations, whereas Creative Economy is not significant as an aggregate index. Micro-level results nevertheless reveal heterogeneous associations within the Creative Economy, indicating both carbon-intensive and potentially more resource-efficient pathways. The study extends CCC sustainability debates by showing that strong cultural and creative performance does not necessarily imply environmental sustainability and by identifying how carbon-sensitive governance can complement CCC benchmarking.