Green Cities Newsletter September 2024

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Green Capitals and Green Leaf cities - Green City Accord News   Open Calls   Upcoming Events   Past Events

News

Awards Ceremony for the 2026 European Green Capital and Leaf winners The next European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards Ceremony will take place in Valencia on 27 November 2024, where the winners will be selected from an impressive group of finalists. European Green Capital Network members will join the celebrations when they meet in Valencia from 26-28 November.   See also environment.ec.europa.eu/news/2026-europ...   more   800 participants attend Valencia Climate Cities Week Last June, more than 800 stakeholders participated in the Valencia Climate Cities Week. Three key events were hosted: the EU Cities Mission Conference, the European Urban Resilience Forum, and the Annual Forum of Energy Cities.   more     Inspiring citizens from Tallinn share their green experiences Six residents of Estonia’s capital Tallinn – which was honoured as the European Green Capital in 2023 – are sharing their life experiences through the Citizen Diaries. Link: Read more   more     Best practice on urban noise: Valencia’s comparative maps and 3D digital twin Explore Valencia's comparative and interactive maps which illustrate the city's progressive approach to noise management over the years. They were presented to fellow European Green Capitals at their network session during Valencia Climate Cities Week.   more     Nature Restoration Law enters into force: What it means for cities Following adoption by EU environment ministers, the Nature Restoration Law entered into force on 15 August establishing targets to restore 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems needing restoration by 2050. For cities, this entails implementing measures to halt the loss of urban green spaces and expand urban greenery and tree canopy cover.   more     Air Quality: Public consultation on the National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive Citizens and stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on the National Emission Reduction Commitments Directive until 26 November 2024. The European Commission intends to assess the Directive's effectiveness in reducing harmful air pollutants, protecting human health and safeguarding the environment. The review also aims to ensure the Directive stays relevant in light of evolving scientific knowledge and policy developments. A stakeholder workshop will take place on 14 October 2024 in Brussels.   more     European city air quality viewer: check the air quality in your city Air quality in Europe has improved over the last three decades thanks to pollution reduction policies. However, some cities still face health risks. The European Environment Agency unveiled the European city air quality viewer on 21 August, to enable citizens to check and compare air quality in cities across Europe, providing data from the last two years.   more     #WaterWiseEU: Join the campaign to transform how we think about water in Europe Europe's water systems are under increased pressure – therefore we must work together to manage, use and value this precious resource more effectively. Wise water use is key to ensuring clean and affordable freshwater for everyone in the EU. It's time to be #WaterWiseEU!   See also environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/wa...   more

Open Calls

European Urban Initiative innovative actions: third call for proposals The third EUI-Innovative Actions Call for Proposals is now open, with a dedicated European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) budget of EUR 90 million. Eligible projects can receive up to EUR 5 million in co-financing and must be completed within 3.5 years. The call will close on 14 October 2024 at 14:00 CEST.   more     Call for partners for EUI’s ‘Water Sensitive City’ and ‘Building Decarbonisation’ thematic partnerships The European Urban Initiative’s (EUI) has launched two new thematic partnerships under the Urban Agenda for the EU (UAEU) to bring together cities, regions, Member States and other stakeholders to address urban challenges. . The application deadline is scheduled for 2 October 2024 at 14:00 CEST.   more     New call to become a European Climate Pact Ambassador Individuals and civil society organisations have the opportunity to become European Climate Pact Ambassadors! They play a vital role in educating, inspiring and facilitating climate-related initiatives within their communities and networks. Stay tuned for the upcoming call for new Ambassadors, which will run from 1 to 31 October 2024   more     LIFE Call for proposals - last days! The 2023 LIFE Calls for proposals were announced on 18 April on the European Commission’s Funding and Tender Portal. To provide further guidance, virtual information sessions took place from 23-26 April 2024, with recordings, presentation materials and networking resources available on the #EULife24 Info Days webpage.   more     Take part in the EEA Urban Treasures photo competition Attention nature and photography lovers! The European Environment Agency (EEA) invites you to showcase your photographic skills and passion for the natural world in their 2024 annual photo competition.   more

Upcoming Events

10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns 2024 in Aalborg The 10th European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns will be held in Aalborg, Denmark, from 1-3 October 2024, featuring a lineup of over 200 speakers.   more     Webinar ‘Engaging citizens in climate action: fostering behavioural change’ Within the European Climate Pact, the EU Climate Action Academy is the EU’s online knowledge hub on climate change and how to take action. The registration to this first session is open to all. The webinar will take place on 1 October 2024.   more     European Week of Regions and Cities The European Week of Regions and Cities is an annual four-day event during which cities and regions showcase their role in promoting growth, jobs and EU cohesion policy. This year’s topic, ‘Empowering Communities’, highlights the importance of local engagement, and one of its four themes is ‘Smart and sustainable growth for regions’. You can now register for the 2024 event, which will take place in Brussels from 7-10 October.   more     Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona Smart City Expo World Congress is the leading global event on urban innovation. It brings cities and territories together to explore the latest ready-to-market urban solutions, helping them become better places to live. This year’s event will be held from 5-7 November in Barcelona, Spain.   more     UN-Habitat – World Urban Forum in Cairo The twelfth session of the World Urban Forum (WUF12), organised by UN-Habitat, is set to take place in Cairo, Egypt, from 4-8 November 2024. This event marks its return to Africa for the first time since the Forum’s inaugural session in 2002 in Nairobi, Kenya.   more

Past Events

EU Green Week 2024 – Summary of the Brussels conference The Green Week 2024 conference, which took place on 29-30 May, featured many speakers discussing water management topics, such as fostering a water-smart economy, restoring the water cycle, ensuring access to clean water and promoting international cooperation. The European Green Capitals and Green City Accord initiatives also jointly hosted a stand throughout the event, providing information and engaging with attendees.   permalink Main URL   more   TAIEX-EIR multi-country flagship workshop on noise The workshop held on 5 June, organised by European Commission, focused on promoting effective strategies and solutions for noise reduction in line with EU targets. Participants discussed, inter alia, how setting specific noise limit values helped mitigate the health impacts of noise exposure. The event also highlighted how current legislation empowers local, regional and national authorities to combat noise through tailored measures, identified potential regulation gaps and explored EU funding opportunities.   permalink Main URL   more   Green Cities networking for water resilience On 19 June 2024, European Green Capitals, Green Leaf cities, and signatory cities of the Green City Accord participated in the online workshop 'Water Resilient Cities: Urban Water Cycle Challenges under the European Green Deal - #WaterWiseEU campaign'. The cities were informed about latest legislative developments, in particular the ongoing review of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. Representatives from 40 cities across 13 countries participated, fostering collaboration and promoting sustainable urban development while emphasising the integration of sustainability in local policies.   permalink Main URL   more

If you have any questions on the Awards, please contact the Secretariat: info@europeangreencapital.eu