Background There is a growing awareness of the need to take action at local level on climate change. Nowhere is this more the case than the Mediterranean region where it is expected that environmental factors could seriously undermine efforts for sustainable development. Climate change will have a major impact on the environmental and the socio-economic conditions of cities in the Mediterranean region and measures taken at national level are not going to suffice to deal with these changes. Local authorities are responsible for their own energy consumption and the use of land. This means they have the power to optimise the energy performance of new developments and to integrate traffic management strategies in development planning. Local authorities can therefore play an important role in climate protection by promoting environmentally friendly policies and raising public awareness on environmental issues. Objectives The MedClima project aimed to build a network of cities from the Mediterranean countries of Greece, Italy and Slovenia to cooperate together on tackling climate change. The network would work to promote climate protection through the transfer and exchange of experiences and best practices, principally in the field of reducing CO2 emissions. Its activities would extend to meetings and workshops with representatives from the northern European countries of Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Sweden. A common action plan was to be developed and implemented by all partners. It foresaw the production of a checklist of climate protection measures at the local authority level and a comprehensive guide to climate protection for Mediterranean cities. The project planned to carry out a joint public awareness campaign. It aimed to develop a method for assessing CO2 emissions at local level and proposals to strengthen the role of local authorities in contributing to the EU effort to tackle climate change. Ultimately the project aimed at the long-term reduction of CO2 emissions by focussing on the potential for change and action at local level. Results The MedClima project succeeded in creating a network of Mediterranean municipalities, which has expanded from the initial partnership to include other cities. It has demonstrated the potential of cooperation between local authorities as a means of tackling climate change by successfully developing and implementing a common action plan together with innovative tools. The development and pilot implementation of a rapid CO2-emissions assessment method has been a key innovation of the project. It provides local authorities with a simple and easy-to-use tool for the estimation of local CO2 emissions in a comprehensive way. As the collection of CO2 emissions data has been a very difficult task, the creation of such a simple instrument is of great support in guiding local efforts to reduce emissions. A checklist of climate protection measures was developed, which led to a common action plan and individualised local action plans for each participating municipality. The checklist included traffic restriction policies and the encouragement of green procurement policies and renewable energy sources. A key feature was the promotion of energy efficiency in buildings, as buildings consume 40% of the total energy used in the EU. In the short implementation period of the project, the municipalities managed to achieve an average reduction in CO2 emissions of around 2%. The measures taken served to decrease the energy needs of the municipalities and the improvements in traffic circulation led to corresponding reductions in related pollutants such as NOx, CO and O3. The project succeeded in involving the local community in the project through its dissemination and public awareness activities, including local meetings and workshops, school events, articles and presentations. The distribution of a comprehensive guide to climate protection for Mediterranean cities also supported organised efforts at local level, making the link between social, economic and environmental benefits. The MedClima cities continue to expand their network and disseminate the project results widely. The partners have even committed themselves to working together on a second, complementary European-funded project. The network continues to push for policy change to develop more effective national strategies for reducing CO2 emissions with a strengthened role for local authorities.