Thirteen European cities have signed the Green City Accord

Lahti and Turku in Finland; Argostoli and Fyli in Greece; Cesena in Italy; Oslo in Norway; Braga, Cascais, Guimarães, Penafiel, Póvoa de Varzim and Torres Vedras in Portugal; and Logroño in Spain have become the first signatories of the Green City Accord, demonstrating their firm commitment to make their cities cleaner, healthier and more resource-efficient by 2030.

This year’s European Green Capital, Lahti is an environmental pioneer and has been awarded for the excellence of its environmental actions in the fields of air quality, governance, waste management, green growth and eco-innovation. But its goals are even higher than that: Lahti aims to be a waste-free city with a full circular economy in place by 2050. Regarding Lahti’s commitment to the Green City Accord, Pekka Timonen, Mayor of Lahti stated: “In addition to climate actions, we need to safeguard urban ecosystems and their biodiversity. A cleaner and more diverse urban environment will directly improve the daily life and well-being of our citizens”. 
 
About the Green City Accord

The Green City Accord is a movement of European cities committed to safeguarding the environment. In signing the Green City Accord, city leaders agree to define more ambitious environmental goals that are to be achieved by 2030 through stepping up action to improve air and water quality, reduce noise pollution, conserve and enhance nature and biodiversity, improve waste management and advance the circular economy in cities. The European Commission formally invites mayors in the European Union to step up local action to 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 policy-makers. 
 
Eurocities, ICLEI Europe and CEMR are supporting the European Commission in developing and implementing the Accord.  

To learn more about the Green City Accord, please visit www.greencityaccord.eu or contact: contactgreencityaccord [dot] eu (contact[at]greencityaccord[dot]eu)