The Estonian capital, Tallinn, beat competition from Helsingborg, Sweden; Krakow, Poland; and Sofia, Bulgaria to become the “European Green Capital” of 2023; the competition is organised by the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union.
The winner of the competition was announced on 9 September in Lahti, Finland – the current bearer of the title.
The “European Green Capital” is elected by the European Commission, recognising the efforts of cities that “preserve and improve an environment that supports both the living environment and the economy”. The “green capital” is supposed to act as a role model to other cities in sustainable development and thus improve the urban environment in European cities.
The cities are assessed on twelve environmental indicators: air quality, noise, waste, water, nature and biodiversity, sustainable land use and soil, green growth and eco-innovation, climate change in mitigation, climate change in adaptation, sustainable urban mobility, energy performance and governance.
Sixteen cities applied
Together with Tallinn, 16 cities applied for the 2023 “green capital” title: Sofia (Bulgaria), Logroño (Spain), Zagreb (Croatia), Dublin (Ireland), Cagliari (Islands of Sardinia, Italy), Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk and Rzeszów (Poland), Skopje (Macedonia), Helsingborg (Sweden), Belgrade (Serbia), Košice (Slovakia), Gaziantep and Izmir (Turkey). Helsingborg, Krakow and Sofia reached the final with Tallinn but ultimately lost.
Among the strengths of the Estonian capital, the competition’s jury pointed out “free public transport” and “brownfield reconversion”, according to the Tallinn city government.
It is the first time Tallinn will bear the “European Green Capital” title.
The first “European Green Capital” was awarded in 2010 and 12 cities have been awarded the title thus far: Stockholm (Sweden), Hamburg (Germany), Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain), Nantes (France), Copenhagen (Denmark), Bristol (UK), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Essen (Germany), Nijmegen (Netherlands), Oslo (Norway), Lisbon (Portugal), Lahti (Finland) and Grenoble (France).
Source: https://estonianworld.com/life/tallinn-wins-the-european-green-capital-title/