Commissione UE: Oslo è la Capitale Green d'Europa. Transizione ecologica verso azzeramento emissioni di CO2

(1)

Jury Report 2019

June 2017

(2)

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 THE ROLE OF THE JURY

The Jury’s role is to select the winner of the European Green Capital Award (EGCA), which rewards cities that are leading the way with environmentally friendly urban living, on the basis of the technical assessment work and proposals provided by an Expert Panel together with the information provided as part of the Jury Assessment.

1.2 JURY MEMBERS

The Jury for the EGC Award comprises representatives from key European and international organisations in the environmental field and is chaired by the European Commission. Jury members cover a wide range of expertise and have in‐depth knowledge of the issues involved. The Jury for the 2019 European Green Capital Award includes the following organisations and their representatives:

 European Commission: Joanna Drake, Deputy Director‐General for Environment

 Committee of the Regions: Sirpa Hertell, City Counsellor of Espoo

 European Environment Agency: Katja Rosenbohm, Head of Communications

 ICLEI ‐ Local Governments for Sustainability: Stefan Kuhn, Deputy Regional Director for Europe

 Covenant of Mayors Office: Frédéric Boyer, Head of Office

 European Environmental Bureau: Dr. Mikael Karlsson, President

1.3 EUROPEAN GREEN CAPITAL AWARD 2019 – JURY ASSESSMENT

The Jury received the Technical Assessment Report, as prepared by the Expert Panel in April 2017.

The Jury considered this report and noted the technical comments and proposals as presented by the Expert Panel. The Jury expressed its appreciation of the excellent work carried out by the Expert Panel.

On the 31^st May 2017, the five finalist cities presented their vision, action plans and communication strategies to the Jury. The Jury assessed the shortlisted cities based on the following criteria:

1. The city’s overall commitment, vision and enthusiasm, as conveyed through the presentation;

2. The city’s capacity to act as a role model, inspiring other cities, promoting best practices and raising the awareness of the EGC model further, bearing in mind city size and location;

3. The city’s communications strategy and actions, which should address:

 Citizen communication and involvement to date in relation to the 12 environmental indicators, effectiveness via changes in citizen behavior, lessons learned and proposed modifications for the future.

 The extent of the city’s (local, regional and national) partnering to gain maximum social and economic leverage.

 How they intend to fulfil their role of EU Ambassador, inspiring other cities.

Each EGC finalist was allocated 60 minutes in total with the Jury which comprised 45 minutes presentation followed by a 15 minute Questions and Answers session. Members of the media were

(4)

permitted to attend each of the presentations of the shortlisted cities to the Jury. However, media attendance was not permitted to any of the Q&A sessions.

(5)

3

2 JURY FINDINGS

The Jury considered that all five cities presented their environmental ambitions through high quality and well prepared presentations. Each finalist was recognised as a potential European Green Capital Award winner and making a decision between these five cities was a very difficult task for the Jury.

The Jury noted the common challenges which all cities face today including reclaiming space from cars and re‐introducing green urban spaces for climate adaptation and quality of life. The Jury comments in relation to each of the shortlisted cities are summarised below.

2.1 GHENT

Ghent presented a clear and persuasive vision for their city and would be a good role model for other small to medium sized cities. Ghent demonstrated strong citizen engagement. The Jury appreciated the focus on having ‘smart citizens’ first before having a ‘smart city’ and adopting the

‘tupe te gore’ approach i.e. working together and leaving no one behind.

Ghent is commended for their support of bottom‐up initiatives i.e. the scale‐up of small experiments to large projects and for their actions already taken in the field of sustainable food consumption.

The Jury was particularly impressed with the co‐creative approach to working with all stakeholders and the idea of engaging with other cities through previous EGCA winners.

2.2 LAHTI

Lahti is commended for their approach to water management and for the restoration of Lake Vesijärvi. It is worth highlighting how the city administration of Lahti is collaborating with the University of Helsinki particularly with regards to nature and biodiversity.

Lahti shows a strong citizen engagement strategy including initiatives which bring generations and demographics together, for example Environment Grannies and Grandpas. The proposed communication strategy ‘One Direction: Four Seasons’ programme involved elements such as education and research which impressed the Jury. The Jury appreciated the idea of telling the story of Lahti through a weekly citizen diary and of taking into account the Finnish EU Presidency in 2019.

The Jury noted the sustainability approach of Sibelius Orchestra Hall being built from wood.

2.3 LISBON

Lisbon is commended for showing strong political leadership and for turning a financial crisis into an opportunity for change. The Jury appreciated the strong focus on sustainable urban planning reclaiming space for people. Lisbon presented a genuinely integrated strategy which linked noise, biodiversity and urban mobility.

The Jury considered Lisbon as an ambassador for change with an excellent focus on how modern urban planning for a historical city can improve the quality of life for citizens. Lisbon could be a good

(6)

role model for cities who are starting out on the path to sustainability as the city showcases how to rapidly transition to a green city from a late starting point.

2.4 OSLO

The Jury was particularly impressed by the holistic approach demonstrated by Oslo covering topics ranging from biodiversity, public transport, social integration and citizen health accompanied by the theme ‘City for everyone, putting people first’.

Oslo is commended for working systematically to re‐open waterways with 3,000 waterways re‐

opened so far. The Jury appreciated Oslo’s active approach to connecting with their citizens particularly with the use of technology and innovation in citizen participation such as text message invitations to public consultations and politician speed‐dating. The Jury also appreciated Oslo’s objective to address common challenges such as reclaiming space for citizens over cars by working with other cities.

Oslo has ambitious proposals for urban mobility and demonstrates commitment to the EU Urban Agenda in the field of circular economy.

2.5 TALLINN

Tallinn is commended for linking culture with environmental issues.

The Jury was impressed with the paperless, ‘digital society’ of Estonia and the innovative electronic identification card system.

Tallinn shows a strong commitment to being a role model, particularly in its support for ‘World Clean‐Up Day’ in September 2018, a grass‐roots initiative in which 90 countries have agreed to participate, and in its free public transport service which highlights the city’s focus on urban mobility.

The Jury was also impressed with the city’s communication plan and the connectivity of blue areas, sea and lake, with the city.

(7)

5

3 JURY CONCLUSION

The Jury would like to commend all cities shortlisted for the 2019 European Green Capital Award for their demonstrated excellence in a number of the environmental topic areas assessed.

Concluding its deliberations, the Jury decided to award the title of European Green Capital for 2019 to Oslo.

Note: The cities are listed in alphabetical order.