http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5nr-2WSuWI
Stockholm was the first city to receive the award European Green Capital by the EU Commission in 2010. The following year the green torch was passed on to Hamburg - the European Green Capital of 2011.
By giving the European Green Capital award to one chosen city each year - the designated city becomes a role model for environmental standards. By presenting good examples and sharing experiences and ideas with other cities, the goal is to improve the environment long term.
A healthy city environment
“More than half of the world’s population live in cities, and in Europe the figure is no less than 80 per cent. Cities therefore play an important role in improving the living environment for citizens. This award represents an excellent opportunity to inform and inspire others about the good environmental work being undertaken by the City, the residents of Stockholm and companies,” says Mayor Sten Nordin (Moderate Party).
The cities nominated were evaluated on the basis of several environmental indications: climate change, local transport, public green areas, air quality, noise, waste handling, water consumption, waste water treatment, sustainable utilisation of land, biodiversity and environmental management.
Why Stockholm?
The motivation for presenting the city of Stockholm with the award European Green Capital 2010 included:
- the City has an integrated administrative system that guarantees that environmental aspects are considered in budgets, operational planning, reporting and monitoring.
- the City has cut carbon dioxide emissions by 25 per cent per inhabitant since 1990.
- the City has adopted the objective of being fossil fuel free by 2050.
The idea behind the award was born at a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia in 2006, and it was launched for the first time by the EU Commission in May 2008. At present, the initiative is supported by more than 40 European cities, including 21 capital cities within the EU.
