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Towards greener cities in Europe

Thea Pieridou, Project Manager European Green Capital, European Commission DG Environment

1/ Could you briefly tell us what the European Green Capital Award is and what are its overall objectives?

The European Green Capital Award (EGCA) is given each year to a city, not necessarily a capital, which is leading the way in environmentally friendly urban living and which can thus act as a role-model to inspire other cities. The EGCA recognises and rewards the efforts that can be made at the local level to improve not only the environment and the economy but also the quality of life of urban populations, which are growing across Europe.
The Award\'s objectives are threefold, namely to: a) reward cities that have a well-established record of achieving high environmental objectives, b) encourage cities to commit to ambitious goals for further environmental improvement and sustainable development, and c) provide a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices and experiences in all other European cities.

2/ What were the reasons for creating this award?


The EGCA is the result of an initiative taken by 15 European cities and the Association of Estonian cities in May 2006 in Tallinn. The 15 cities were Tallinn itself, Helsinki, Riga, Vilnius, Berlin, Warsaw, Madrid, Ljubljana, Prague, Vienna, Kiel, Kotka, Dartford, Tartu and Glasgow. The initiative was turned into a joint Memorandum submitted to the European Commission in which they proposed the establishment of an award rewarding cities that are leading the way in environmentally friendly urban living.


The creation of the award is timely since Europe is now an essentially urban society, with four out of five Europeans living in towns and cities. Most of the environmental challenges facing our society originate from urban areas but it is also these urban areas that bring together the commitment and innovation needed to resolve them.



3/What are the criteria for the selection of the cities?


Eleven environmental indicator areas have been defined to guide the work of the EGCA expert evaluation panel. These are: local contribution to climate change, local transport, green urban areas, sustainable land use, nature and biodiversity, local air quality, noise pollution, waste production & management, water consumption, waste water treatment and environmental management of the municipality.

When assessing the cities\' applications, the experts focus on:
a) The environmental situation today and how it has evolved over the last five to ten years, measured in relation to the eleven environmental indicators,
b) The extent of innovative and efficient measures implemented to improve the city environment, related to each of the environmental indicators,
c) The plans for implementing further measures in future, and
d) The city\'s communications plan for sharing experiences and best practice on environmental matters. This can be seen as a kind of twelfth indicator.




4/ why were Stockholm and Hamburg chosen as European Green Capital for 2010 and 2011?


Stockholm and Hamburg were chosen from dozens of applicants for a number of reasons. In brief:

As 2010 winner, Stockholm scored highest for its contribution to the battle against climate change, the availability of green areas open to the public, low noise pollution, good waste production practices and sustainable land use management.


The expert evaluation panel praised Stockholm for its long-term vision on environmental issues, which has resulted in initiatives such as an innovative integrated waste treatment system that brings high rates of recycling. The panel commended the fact that 95% of the population live within 300m of green areas, and was also impressed by Stockholm’s goal to become fossil-free by 2050, in line with its wider sustainable development plans for a rapidly growing metropolis of 800,000 people. The city can boast a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per inhabitant since 1990, which has brought emissions down to half the Swedish national average. All trains and central buses now run on renewable fuels and air quality has also improved significantly, thanks in part to a recently introduced congestion charge on inner-city vehicles.


Hamburg was awarded the 2011 title as the city combines integrated and participative planning with policy commitments and has set ambitious climate protection goals such as reducing its CO2 emissions by 40% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050. Concretely speaking, CO2 emissions per person have been reduced by about 15% compared to 1990, with annual energy savings of some 46,000 MWh. The Hamburg Climate Protection Act contains a special cost-efficiency benchmark for energy-saving measures in public buildings such as programmes for lamps, boilers and refrigerator replacement. Hamburg has replaced over 200,000 conventional lamps in more than 400 public buildings, saving energy and €3.4 million per year. Additionally over 600 boiler systems have been replaced with modern condensing boilers in recent years, an investment of €18 million.


The experts evaluating Hamburg\'s performance commended the excellent integrated waste management system with high levels of source separation of individual materials and energy recovery. Very good performance in water consumption, metering and leakage was also noted by the panel. The experts were impressed with the fact that almost 100% of Hamburg\'s citizens have public transport within 300 meters and there is also a systematic structure of green spaces which are easily accessible to citizens.



5/How does this award contribute to creating a greener environment in Europe?


The EGCA is an excellent policy tool and powerful incentive to help convince local governments and authorities that sustainable urban development is the key to a successful future. Progress is its own reward, but we believe the satisfaction and pride involved in winning a prestigious European award will spur cities to invest in further implementation of EU environment policies at the local level, share experiences and visions with other European countries and local governments, streamline environmental actions and projects and take the idea of sustainable development closer to the people. Cities across Europe differ enormously and sharing concrete examples of what a European Green Capital can look like is essential to promoting further progress.



6/What are the advices you would give to future candidate cities?


I believe that Europeans who want to live in urban areas have a right to live in towns and cities that are healthy. Cities should therefore strive to improve the quality of life of their citizens and reduce their impact on the global environment. The advantages of improving the urban environment – such as cleaner air, land and water, better public transport and expansion of green spaces – are clear for all to see and enjoy.