The European Green Capital in 2010 will be Stockholm, followed by Hamburg in 2011. The two cities were chosen from eight finalists, the other six being Amsterdam, Bristol, Copenhagen, Freiburg im Breisgau, Münster and Oslo. Over 30 cities entered originally to be considered for the award.

The Green Capital Award scheme was created in 2008 by The European Commission and managed by the European Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potočnik. It is designed to promote the quality of urban life. It recognises those cities that make a genuine attempt to improve the quality of their citizens lives by considering the environment by urban planning.

At the awards ceremony to announce the two winners, European Commissioner Dimas said: “With their measures to tackle air pollution, traffic and congestion levels, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste and waste water management, Stockholm and Hamburg can act as role models for the rest of Europe.”

The cities were judged by a panel which included members from the Committee of the Regions, European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), the European Environment Agency and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. They looked for a number of environmental criteria to be met by the cities, including environmental improvement, sustainable development and their role as influencers on other cities.

Stockholm, the capital of Sweden with nearly one million inhabitants, particularly attracted the panel’s attention because of its approach to City planning. Called the Integrated Management System, it recognises the importance of environmental issues within the City’s budget and operations.

It won plaudits in a number of areas. Nearly all of the City’s population live less than 300 metres from green areas which allow them to benefit from a non-dense urban environment. It also has an ambition to create more beaches on which people can relax and bathe. It also has some of Europe’s highest recycling rates, helped by underground vacuum systems and thanks to traffic control measures and an innovative congestion charge system, it has delivered a 25% reduction since 1990 in per capita CO2 emissions.

Stockholm has also claimed that it intends to be fossil free by 2050.

Hamburg is nearly twice as big as Stockholm and is nearly as ambitious. It claims it will have reduced its CO2 emissions by 40% by the year 2020 and by 80% by 2050. It also impressed the panel with it’s current air quality and its long term commitment to a number of environmental projects.

It has replaced over 500 old boiler systems with new, high efficiency condensing boilers and this measure alone, which cost in the region of €18 million, has reduced emissions by 15%. And it has also replaced over 200,000 conventional light bulbs in over 400 public buildings, replacing them with more energy efficient models. Also Hamburg boasts that all of its citizens are within 300 metres of public transport, which is more can be said for most cities. It also puts a great emphasis on green spaces for its citizens, with a large number of open spaces and parks for them to enjoy.

Guest Article by Neil Camp