At the end of April Riga municipality submitted an application to compete in the contest for Riga to become the European Green Capital 2026, as confirmed by the city council’s External Communications Office.
The title “European Green Capital” is awarded every year to a European city that has more than 100 000 residents and which demonstrates leadership in environmental sustainability.
Riga City Council Housing and Environment Committee’s head Viesturs Zeps notes that Riga municipality has invested a lot of work into greening the city and improving air quality with the aim of creating a better environment for the inhabitants of Riga and guests of the city. Investments and improvements to Riga’s environmental quality help make the city attractive to both tourists and investors. This is why this step was made for Riga to run for the title of European Green Capital. The application allows Riga to compare itself to other European cities.
Applications are processed by an independent group of experts. Once it is done, the European Commission will compose a list of cities that will later submit their applications and action plan to the jury.
The jury, chaired by the European Commission, will select the winner based on several award criteria: the city’s communication strategy and activities for the role of the European Green Capital; the city’s overall strategy, vision and commitment to sustainability, short- and long-term implementation in practice; and the technical assessment of the city’s environmental performance. The title itself will be presented at a festive ceremony in Valencia in October 2024.
Finalists and winner will be included in the network of leading cities to exchange information and practices. The winner will also receive EUR 600 000 prize money to further support environmental activities and promote the vision.
The title of European Green Capital comes from an initiative created by cities with a “green vision”. The idea originally arose in 2006 at a meeting in Tallinn. Stockholm and Hamburg were the first winners in 2010 and 2011. Tallinn won the title in 2023, and Vilnius will be the European Green Capital in 2025.
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Riga to run for title of European Green Capital 2026
