Building urban resilience: nine cities on the shortlist for the next European Green City Awards

As the world struggles with an unprecedented health, social and economic crisis, nine European cities are showing continued commitment to sustainability, as they enter the final stage of the European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards. In the new context this commitment becomes even more important, as green cities are not only healthier places to live, they are also more resilient to the future crises caused by climate change, biodiversity loss and scarcity of resources.

Dijon (France), Grenoble (France), Tallinn (Estonia) and Turin (Italy) are the four finalists for the title of European Green Capital 2022.

For the European Green Leaf 2021 contest, open to smaller urban areas, the finalists are Elsinore (Denmark), Gabrovo (Bulgaria), Lappeenranta (Finland), Nyborg (Denmark) and Ringkøbing-Skjern (Denmark). Up to two cities may win the award in any given year.

Since 2008, the European Green Capital Awards have been rewarding and highlighting the achievements of Europe’s greenest cities – those that are making our urban environments better and healthier places to live. With more than two thirds of Europe’s population living in urban areas, these Awards play a vital role in informing and inspiring other cities and towns that strive for urban sustainability and eco-innovation towards implementing the European Green Deal.

European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said:

In a context of climate emergency, Europe needs inspiring stories and good examples to follow. This year’s finalists are providing that – they are quieter, healthier and greener cities, all proving that local solutions already exist for the vast majority of the urban problems we face. They are ambassadors for change, showing that we can build a better environment, creating resilient cities for a more secure future.

The shortlisted cities will now proceed to the final stage of the competition: convincing an international jury of their overall commitment to sustainable urban development, their capacity to act as a role model to other cities, and their strategy for communicating and
engaging with their citizens. The Jury presentations and Awards Ceremony will be held over two days, later this year, most likely in Lisbon, the current European Green Capital (2020).

The winner of European Green Capital 2022 will win €350 000 and the winner(s) of the European Green Leaf 2021 title will win €75 000 to kick-start their green years (max. 2 winners).

Background

The European Green Capital Award is presented to a city, with more than 100 000 inhabitants, that is at the forefront of environmentally friendly urban living. Each year, a panel of independent urban sustainability experts assesses the performance of the competing cities against 12 environmental indicators and selects finalists, to present to an international Jury. In addition to providing inspiration to other cities, winning cities benefit from an increased profile, which serves to enhance their reputation and make them an attractive, sustainable destination for people to visit, work and live in.

To date, 12 cities have been awarded the title of European Green Capital since the initiative commenced, in 2010. Stockholm, Sweden, won the inaugural title, followed by Hamburg, Germany (2011); Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain (2012); Nantes, France (2013); Copenhagen, Denmark (2014); Bristol, UK (2015); Ljubljana, Slovenia (2016); Essen, Germany (2017); Nijmegen, The Netherlands (2018); Oslo, Norway (2019); Lisbon, Portugal (2020); and Lahti, Finland (2021).

Following the success of the European Green Capital Award, the European Green Leaf Award (EGLA) was established in 2015 to recognise the environmental efforts and achievements of smaller towns and cities (20 000 – 100 000 inhabitants). The same panel of 12 independent urban sustainability experts (mentioned above) assesses the applications received based on 6 environmental topic areas and selects the finalists. To date, nine cities have been awarded the title of European Green Leaf: Mollet del Vallès, Spain (2015); Torres Vedras, Portugal (2015); Galway, Ireland (2017); Leuven, Belgium (2018); Växjö, Sweden (2018); Cornellà de Llobregat, Spain (2019); Horst aan de Maas, the Netherlands (2019); Limerick, Ireland (2020); and Mechelen, Belgium (2020).

For more information:

Websites:  https://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/europeangreencapital/europeangreenleaf/

Twitter:  @EU_GreenCapital

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/EuropeanGreenCapitalAward

LinkedIn:   European Green Capital Award

EU Policy on Urban Environment:  https://ec.europa.eu/environment/urban/index_en.htm