Stockholm and Hamburg awarded European Green Capital 2010 and 2011
Last updated 16/03/2009 18:01:18
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Photo © Yanan Li (Stockholm Visitors Board)
Swedish capital, Stockholm, will be the first European Green Capital in 2010 with ambitious target of saying goodbye to fossils by 2050.
It is followed by Hamburg, the European Green Capital 2011, which has successfully tackled the green challenge by implementing innovative metropolitan transport system.
Stockholm eco success lies in the city council's holistic vision combines growth with sustainable development.
The city’s Vice Mayor Ms. Ulla Hamilton gave credit to the stakeholders for contributing toward its green vision; "We are especially grateful for the environmental commitment of the companies and of the public of Stockholm."
Stockholm’s population is just under 800.000 but is growing rapidly. 95% of them live only 300m away from green areas, thus augmenting recreation, swimming, boating, better well being, water purification, noise reduction, enhancement of biodiversity and ecology.
Situated on the Baltic coast, the city is aptly dubbed as 'The Venice of The North' where 10% of the city area is water, and vast expanse of lakes and water sheds are highly valued for recreational purposes.
Each inhabitant of Stockholm releases is 50% lower greenhouse gas than the national average, and emissions per person have, since 1990, been reduced by 25%.
Germany port city Hamburg is applauded for its achieving high environmental standards and good performance levels in terms of cycling and public transport indicators.
Almost all its 1.8 million citizens have access to optimal public transport within 300m of their given location. There is also a systematic structure for green areas that allow easy accessibility.
The Port of Hamburg on the river Elbe is Europe's second largest in terms of number of containers handled.
With a growing number of containers entering and leaving the port, expansion issue is a continuously debated. However, geographical expansion into the surrounding area is intentionally just not pursued.
Instead, Hamburg is making more efficient use of allocated land and by generating new areas through filling-up expendable harbour basins.
http://stockholm.se/-/English/
http://english.hamburg.de/