Green Cities Newsletter April 2025

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In this issue European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards   Green City Accord   Brussels bubble   Open Calls   Upcoming Events   Past events

European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards

Vilnius began its year as European Green Capital 2025 On 22-23 January 2025, Vilnius (Lithuania) hosted its opening ceremony to mark the start of its European Green Capital title year. The event gathered high-level politicians, representatives from the Green City Accord, European Green Capital Network members and sustainability experts.   permalink Main URL   more   Viladecans and Treviso started their year as European Green Leaf Viladecans (Catalonia, Spain) launched its European Green Leaf 2025 celebrations on 18 January with speeches, performances and sustainability talks, including video greetings from EU Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall. The event highlighted the city’s green initiatives and commitment to carbon neutrality. Treviso (Veneto, Italy) followed on 2 February, transforming its main square with new greenery and artistic installations. Mayor Mario Conte presented the city’s sustainability plans, while community events engaged over a thousand participants.   permalink Main URL   more   Two weeks left to participate in the 2027 European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards The European Commission launched the 2027 European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards competition in mid-January 2025, inviting cities to showcase their sustainability efforts. Applications are open until 15 April 2025, with the winners to be announced in October during an awards ceremony in Vilnius, Lithuania.   permalink Main URL   more   Once a green capital, always a green capital: Oslo’s continued path to sustainability Oslo, the 2019 European Green Capital, remains a leader in sustainability, as highlighted in its five-year progress report. The city has cut greenhouse gas emissions by 28% since 2009, with municipal emissions dropping by 86% since 2012.   permalink Main URL   more   President Mattarella welcomes Treviso: a model city for a greener Europe On 24 January, Treviso’s mayor, Mario Conte, met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale to mark the city’s European Green Leaf 2025 title. The Italian Head of State praised Treviso as a “model” for sustainability, recognising its innovative environmental policies and strong community involvement.   permalink Main URL   more

Green City Accord

Green City Accord ceremony brings cities together for a greener future During the European Green Capital 2025 opening in Vilnius, a specially dedicated ceremony for the Green City Accord celebrated mayors bound to their urban green transition. The event reinforced collaboration and knowledge-sharing at a crucial time as the new European Commission advances the Green Deal. The ceremony showcased cities’ achievements, encouraged best practice exchanges and strengthened commitments from new members.   permalink Main URL See also www.youtube.com/live/ny_JwmEk29M   more   European Green City Accord: three years of progress in urban sustainability The European Green City Accord (GCA) produced its first progress report since its launch in 2020. It highlights the significant environmental progress made by 115 cities across Europe. The GCA has helped local governments tackle key sustainability challenges in air quality, water management, biodiversity, waste reduction and noise pollution.   permalink Main URL   more   Discover the GreenMe 5 initiative and its partners The LIFE project GreenMe5 aligns with the principles of the Green City Accord by implementing innovative urban greening strategies across the signatory cities of Arezzo (IT), Helsingborg (SV), Vilnius (LT), Murcia and Cieza (ES) and the GCA supporter Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia. Through collaborative actions, GreenMe5 contributes to the broader European vision of creating cleaner, healthier and more resilient cities.   permalink Main URL   more   Helsingborg’s Oceanhamnen project pioneers sustainable urban living The Swedish city of Helsingborg, GCA signatory, is transforming former industrial sites into modern, eco-friendly spaces through its H+ city renewal project. The Oceanhamnen district integrates an innovative waste and wastewater management system, serving around 1 800 residents and office workers.   permalink Main URL   more

Brussels bubble

EU’s Zero Pollution Outlook 2025: progress and challenges toward 2030 goals The Zero Pollution Monitoring and Outlook 2025 report provides a snapshot of pollution trends across the EU and assesses progress toward the 2030 zero pollution targets. The report integrates data from EU monitoring frameworks and highlights the need for stronger measures to meet sustainability goals.   permalink Main URL   more   EU Clean Air Report: progress made, but more action needed The Fourth Clean Air Outlook report confirms that EU air pollution levels continue to decline, but challenges remain, especially with ammonia emissions, which have stalled in many Member States. While the EU is on course to meet its 2030 health-related zero-pollution goal, it is off track in reducing the impact of air pollution on ecosystems.   permalink Main URL   more   New zero pollution dashboard for regions and cities On 3 March 2025, a new dashboard on EU regions and capital cities was released. In an interactive way, the user may check the progress on clean air, water, and soil and highlights improvements in wastewater sanitation, bathing water quality, and groundwater pollution, among other pollution aspects, in all the EU regions and the national capitals. You are invited to provide your feedback.   permalink Main URL See also ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/zero_pollut...   more   Stronger EU rules for cleaner urban wastewater enter into force The revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, effective 1 January 2025, strengthens protections for public health and the environment by ensuring cleaner rivers, lakes and coasts across Europe.   permalink Main URL   more   Cities have cleaner air but remain too noisy The European Court of Auditors reveals in a recent report that while city air quality is improving, pollution standards are still not consistently met. The report also flags significant gaps in noise pollution management, with no EU-wide noise reduction targets and incomplete data on citizens' exposure.   permalink Main URL   more   Clean Industrial Deal On 26 February 2025, the EC also presented the Clean Industrial Deal, a transformative strategy aimed at enhancing the competitiveness and resilience of Europe's industrial sector. The plan seeks to accelerate the decarbonisation process while safeguarding the future of manufacturing within the EU.   more     Guide to EU Funding for environmental projects Looking for EU funding to support environmental initiatives? This guide published by the Directorate-General for the Environment of the European Commission provides a reference for project promoters, whether public or private, seeking financial support under the 2021-2027 EU budget. It outlines funding opportunities for projects aligned with the European Green Deal and EU environmental policies.   permalink Main URL   more   2024 progress report on the 8th Environment Action Programme The European Environment Agency’s latest report assesses progress toward the 8th Environment Action Programme (8th EAP) goals, using 28 key indicators to track environmental performance across the EU.   permalink Main URL   more   EEA report on waste prevention: More effective measures needed to tackle food waste While prevention measures are gaining momentum, more effective efforts at national level are needed to tackle the huge problem of food waste according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) report ‘Preventing waste in Europe - Progress and challenges, with a focus on food waste’ published on 31 March. The assessment gives an update on waste prevention measures across the EU. Preventing food waste is both urgent and necessary, given the high impacts of food waste on climate change, but also to protect biodiversity, reduce pollution and enhance food security.   permalink Main URL See also Download the report   more

Open Calls

Cities and regions invited to join CCRI communities of practice The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) is welcoming applications from European cities and regions to join new communities of practice focused on advancing the circular economy. These working groups will bring together experienced practitioners to collaborate on urban planning, municipal waste strategies, local business support and reducing consumption-based emissions.   more   Calls for the Circular City Advisory (CCA) and Circular Project Advisory (CPA) are open The Circular City Centre (C3) is a European Investment Bank initiative, in partnership with the European Commission, which helps EU cities transition to a circular economy. C3 supports cities in developing circular projects for financing, addressing linear challenges and fostering resilience, sustainability and livability. Applications for the CCA and CPA programmes are now open! Apply by 20 June 2025.   more     FEDARENE's Plan4CET Mentoring Programme arrives to support regions and municipalities FEDARENE is launching a mentoring programme for European municipalities, regions and energy agencies that want to enhance their clean energy transition planning thus improving air quality and reducing pollution. Participants will receive expert guidance, practical tools and networking opportunities to help implement innovative solutions in their territories.   more

Upcoming Events

8-10 April: Only a few days before the URBACT City Festival in Wrocław The URBACT City Festival will be held in Wrocław , Poland, from 8-10 April 2025. This key event will highlight innovative and transferable urban practices from cities across Europe, emphasising integrated and participatory approaches.   more     10 April: EU GPP Helpdesk Webinar 'Preserving water through public procurement' The first Green Public Procurement webinar of the year, taking place on 10 April 14:00 - 15:30 (CEST), is entitled ‘Preserving Water through Public Procurement’ and seeks to explore how GPP can influence sustainable water management, promote water efficiency, sustainable infrastructure and practices that minimise water waste and pollution across the European Union. Registrations are open   Registration Registrations See also Website   more   6-8 May: Fourth Cities Mission conference in Vilnius The fourth edition of the Cities Mission Conference 2025 will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, from 6-8 May 2025. The theme will be ‘Harnessing City Successes: Advancing Climate Action for 2030’. The event will highlight the achievements and ambitions of Mission Cities and their partners working towards climate neutrality by 2030. The European Commission will display a stand for the Green City Accord, European Green Capital and Green Leaf cities.   more     3-5 June: The European Green Week is almost here This year, the EU Green Week will be held in Brussels from 3-5 June 2025. The main focus will be on the circular economy, highlighting its role in competitiveness, waste reduction and innovation. The event will feature policy discussions on circular resource use (3-4 June) and a stakeholder event (5 June) to foster collaboration and action.   more     10-12 June: Get ready for European Sustainable Energy Week 2025! The European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) conference is Europe’s largest event focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The 19th edition will be held in a hybrid format, both in Brussels and online, from 10-12 June 2025. It will bring together policymakers, innovators and energy stakeholders to explore innovations and the future of sustainable energy in Europe.   more     17-19 June: Cities Forum 2025 taking place in Kraków The Cities Forum 2025, co-organised with the European Commission and the European Urban Initiative, will take place in Kraków from 17-19 June. The event will bring together urban leaders, policymakers and stakeholders for three days of discussions, workshops and site visits, focusing on Europe's key urban challenges and exploring solutions for sustainable and inclusive cities.   more     25-27 June: Registrations are open for EURESFO25 in Rotterdam This year’s European Urban Resilience Forum (EURESFO) will focus on accelerating resilience efforts across six key areas: justice, inclusion, and societal resilience; addressing new extremes and poly-crises, from heatwaves to water resilience; exploring nature-based solutions from policy to action; finance and investment strategies for building resilience; governance of resilience in a polarised political environment; and, data, information, and evidence-driven resilience actions.   more

Past events

Applicant city workshop for 2027 European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards On 19 February 2025, cities interested in applying for the European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards 2027 participated in an informative online workshop. The event provided a comprehensive overview of the competition process, with insights from expert evaluators and past award winners who shared their experiences and best practices.   more     Key takeaways from the Green Cities Network’s nature restoration workshop The European Green Capital, European Green Leaf and Green City Accord network workshop on nature restoration took place on 12 March 2025. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation aims to restore degraded ecosystems, which are essential for carbon capture and disaster risk reduction. Participants learnt how to implement nature-based solutions using Copernicus geospatial data while addressing challenges such as securing funding, creating tailored solutions, and ensuring stakeholder engagement to restore ecosystems and enhance urban green infrastructure.   more