European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards Secretariat:update

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In this issue… ...Commission launches Green City Accord ...Entreps Awards ...New Green City Winners Announced! European Green Capital 2022 – Grenoble European Green Leaf 2021 – Gabrovo and Lappeenranta ...Competition Update The competition to find the EGCA 2023 & EGLA 2022 has closed!       ...News from Europe’s Green Cities What’s happening in our 2020 Green Cities: Lisbon, Limerick and Mechelen Looking ahead to Lahti 2022 ...European Green Capital Network Knowledge sharing from the European Green Capital Network: EGCN Webinar Series and Mannheim2020 Conference Toolbox session   Commission launches Green City Accord The Green City Accord, a new environmental initiative to improve air, noise and water quality, conserve and enhance nature & biodiversity, strengthen waste management and advance the circular economy, in cities was launched on 22 October by the European Commission during a high-level event at the European Week of Regions and Cities. Mayors and other local political leaders representing Seville (Spain), Florence (Italy), Lille (France), Porto (Portugal) and Freiburg (Germany) expressed their strong support for the Green City Accord. The European Commission formally invites Mayors across the European Union to join the Green City Accord, and to commit to higher ambition to make their cities cleaner, healthier and more resource-efficient by 2030. Stepping up local action will also help accelerate the implementation of the EU’s environment legislation and support attaining the environmental ambitions of the European Green Deal. In turn, the European Commission will support cities by providing networking and funding opportunities and by facilitating closer communication between EU and local policymakers. Read more here: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/topics/urban-environment/green-city-accord_en  Entreps Awards: Global Recognition for our Awards! The European Green Capital Awards have been shortlisted to compete in the final round of the 5th Global Entreps Awards. An initiative of the United Nations, the Global Entreps Awards reward public figures, outstanding initiatives, successful policies, institutions, etc., across the world that are acting and growing sustainably, under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Now 1,000 global jurors are adjudicating the shortlisted entrants and the winners will be announced in 2021. The need to make our societies more sustainable and to protect our environment and our climate is more pressing than ever. The role of cities and regions in this process should not be underestimated. It is heartening that the European Green Capital Awards is being recognised globally and considered for this prestigious designation! Grenoble wins the European Green Capital Award 2022! Congratulations to the French city of Grenoble – the winner of the European Commission’s European Green Capital Award 2022! This year, the Awards Ceremony was held on 8 October as an online event, in line with Covid19 safety measures. The ceremony was broadcast live from Lisbon, Portugal – the current European Green Capital and involved live streaming from Brussels; where EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, announced the winners. The nine Finalist Cities were: Dijon (France), Grenoble (France), Tallinn (Estonia), Turin (Italy), Elsinore (Denmark), Gabrovo (Bulgaria), Lappeenranta (Finland), Nyborg (Denmark) and Ringkøbing-Skjern (Denmark). Read the European Green Capital Award 2022 Technical Assessment Report here EGCA 2022 Winner Grenoble accepting the Award at the online Awards Ceremony The Jury was impressed by Grenoble, for its pioneering approach to climate management and ambitious plans on how it will reach cities and citizens across Europe and inspire further solutions. Indeed, Grenoble demonstrated strong performance across all key indicators and ranked high on, Climate Change Mitigation, Energy performance, Sustainable Urban Mobility, Sustainable Land Use, and in mitigating noise.   Watch the EGCA 2022 & EGLA 2021 Awards Ceremony here Accepting the Award, Mayor of Grenoble, Éric Piolle said “It is an honour for us to follow all former Green Capital Cities. We all need to adapt our way of life and I am sure that being a European Green Capital will help us to go further. We will be demanding and proactive ambassadors.” Mayor of Grenoble, Éric Piolle accepting the European Green Capital 2022 Award   Welcome to our new European Green Leaf Cities: Gabrovo and Lappeenranta The European Green Leaf 2021 winners Gabrovo (Bulgaria) and Lappeenranta (Finland) stood out for their approach to environmental management, as well as their communication and engagement plans, that position them as ideal role models to inspire other cities. Gabrovo Team Gabrovo ready for the Awards Gabrovo was commended for its commitment to energy efficiency and clean technology implementation over the past decade. This has resulted in initiatives with citizen involvement, focused on the provision of sustainable transport and maintenance of green areas. Gabrovo also has a wide variety of natural habitats and species and has measures in place to protect and conserve biodiversity. Joint EGLA 2021 winner Gabrovo accepting the Award Lappeenranta Team Lappeenranta ready for the Awards Lappeenranta was recognised for its commitment to becoming a model green city and ranked high in all the Award indicators. Guided by the Lappeenranta 2033 Strategy, it is also the world’s first city to start using EKOenergy certified renewable electricity. In 2021, for the first time in the history of the Awards, one country will host both the European Green Capital and the European Green Leaf in the same year. The year 2021 will see Finland as the home of the European Green Capital in Lahti and the joint European Green Leaf winner in Lappeenranta! Joint EGLA 2021 winner Lappeenranta accepting the Award as EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius looks on Resilient Europe Announcing the winners, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius said: "While this year has been one of the most challenging in modern times, the winners and finalists of the Green City Awards have proven to be resilient and shown that, even in the most difficult circumstances, rapid changes are possible. At the same time, these success stories show that sustainability and green transition provide solutions to cope with sudden crises and create better and healthier urban areas for EU citizens. As we continue to adapt to a new normal, our Award-winning cities will continue to play a leading role in implementing solutions that take us closer to delivering the European Green Deal and creating cities that are fit for life.” EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius speaking live at the EGCA 2022 & EGLA 2021 Awards Ceremony, from his office in Brussels In addition to the responsibilities of winning the title, Grenoble will receive a €350,000 financial incentive from the European Commission to kick-start its European Green Capital year. The winners of the European Green Leaf 2021 title will each receive €75,000. Application Deadline to find Europe’s next Green Cities has closed! The deadline to apply for the 2023 European Green Capital (EGCA 2023) and 2022 European Green Leaf (EGLA 2022) Awards closed on 28 October 2020.   The process to verify all of the applications is now underway and the Long List of Applicants for both Awards will be announced later in November - keep an eye on the Website and our next e-zine for details. For the new cycle of the Awards, the financial prize for both Awards has been significantly increased to a combined one million euro, aimed at supporting cities in putting in place urban sustainability measures. The EGCA 2023 winning city will receive €600.000, while up to two EGLA 2022 winning towns/cities will receive €200.000 each. News from Europe’s Green Cities Lisbon Lisbon’s European Green Capital 2020 brochure showcases the city’s best practices across all 12 EGCA environmental indicators and includes plenty of insights on how Lisbon transformed its environment and brought citizens and politicians on board. The brochure also features local stories and includes beautiful images of Lisbon. Read the Lisbon brochure here Lahti EGCA 2021 Lahti is getting ready for its upcoming European Green Capital Year 2021 and has published a stimulating Programme of Events, including webinars, forums and seminars. The opening ceremony for Lahti’s 2021 Green Capital Year will take place over the weekend of 15 and 16 January. Limerick A quiet life Limerick hosted a European Green Leaf webinar entitled “Looking for a Quiet Life?” on 12 October, as part of its European Green Leaf 2020 Programme of Events. This webinar explored the links between noise and health and the importance of having access to tranquil spaces for physical and mental wellbeing. Limerick invited local people, to become citizen scientists and to use the “Hush City” app to inform the City and County Council about quiet places, where they can find a refuge from the hustle and bustle of city life. This will help in the formal identification of “Quiet Areas”, to be protected. Presented by Dr Simon Jennings, Limerick City and County Council, and Dr Antonella Radicchi, Technical University of Berlin, Inventor and Principal Investigator of Hush City, the issues and methods covered in the webinar have universal application. Bringing Swifts back to the city Swifts are an important bird species, but are in serious decline. Limerick is embarking on an exciting Swift Nest Box project as part of its European Green Leaf 2020 year to bring Swifts back into the city. Working with local volunteers from BirdWatch Ireland, the aim is to encourage Swifts to return to Limerick’s riverside city by installing sixteen new Swift Nest Boxes across four sites where the Swifts have traditionally nested. Each individual nest box has three nesting cavities, so that a successful project could see 48 new nests in the city centre, accommodating up to twelve swift families at each site!   Watch the Webinar and visit Limerick European Green Leaf City YouTube channel for other useful resources.   Key learnings from European Green Capital Network members European Green Capital Network (EGCN) Webinar Series Throughout September, the European Green Capital Network (EGCN) hosted four webinars for cities and relevant stakeholders to engage with EGCN experts across four different themes: Future Proof Toolkit: This toolkit focuses on the future-proof vision. This vision combines European cities' strategies to use nature-based solutions to become (or stay) resilient towards natural and manmade disasters and adapt to climate change. 100% Renewable Toolkit: This toolkit tackles the question of how to become ‘100% renewable’. Here some of the European Green Capital Network members share some of the successes and challenges they have faced on their paths towards this vision. Less Waste, More Value Toolkit: This toolkit tackles the question of how to get to less waste, more value. From bins holding protest placards and cycling compost heaps, to family versus family rivalry, to bringing packaging producers to see where their rubbish ends up, cities are full of ingenious ways to reduce waste and increase reuse and recycling. Human Scale Toolkit: This toolkit showcases examples from European Green Capital Network members that have used sustainable mobility, green spaces, participation tools, co-housing initiatives and more to develop people-centred cities - places of advanced social progress, which often combine urban density with abundant public spaces and nature-rich areas. Green Capital Toolkit: This toolkit contains tips and advice from previous finalists and winners of the prestigious European Green Capital Award to help your city submit a solid application and make the most of the process to generate long-term benefits. The webinar series offers practical guidance, insider tips and the opportunity to learn and share experiences on best practices and challenges from EGCA winners and finalists. Watch the webinar series here Mannheim 2020 Conference Toolbox session: Lessons from the European Green Capitals In this session, each thematic EGCN toolkit was presented by a pioneering network member, showcasing what leading work their cities have done in the areas of adaptation, renewable energy, waste management and human scale urban development. The webinar also focused on how others can follow in their footsteps to become the next European Green Capital. The Network Secretariat presented examples from other member cities and highlighted the resources the Network has to offer. The European Commission explained the importance of the Network and its toolkits to inspire cities to tackle their most pressing environmental challenges and implement EU policy and legislation. Watch the conference and view other resources here