Brussels, 6 October 2023
The winners of the European Green Cities 2025 Awards were announced yesterday afternoon. Vilnius (Lithuania) will be the 2025 European Green Capital, and the title of European Green Leaf 2025 for smaller cities went to Viladecans (Spain) and Treviso (Italy). This year’s European Green Capital, Tallinn, hosted the Awards ceremony.
Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevičius said:
“Bravo to Vilnius, Viladecans and Treviso! Welcome to the European Green Cities group. You have been working hard to make your cities greener, healthier and more pleasant places to live. Climate change will exacerbate extreme weather events such as droughts and floods that we faced this summer. The answer to those has to be greener cities – cities with lower pollution, which care more for citizens’ well-being. That is exactly what today’s winners are doing.”
The expert jury crowned Vilnius as the 2025 European Green Capital Winner for its commitment to a sustainable future, including the aim to become climate neutral by 2030. The jury recognised that Vilnius has successfully reduced emissions through various measures, such as increasing renewable energy sources and renovating heating infrastructure. It also appreciated Vilnius’ innovative, tech-oriented approach to citizen engagement and participation.
Both Green Leaf winners, Viladecans and Treviso, impressed the jury with their unique approaches to engaging their communities in the green transition.
The jury recognised that in Viladecans, residents and stakeholders at different levels participated in various decision-making processes, and that the city has made significant strides in renewable energy and energy efficiency. As Green Leaf winner, the city will focus on two goals in parallel: the ecological transition and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Treviso impressed the jury with the way the city used storytelling and gamification to engage young people, as well as its communication efforts to cross bridges between generations. The jury also highlighted Treviso’s work to double the number of trees.
The winners will receive a grant for further support in their green efforts: a prize of €600,000 for Green Capital Vilnius, and €200,000 for Green Leaf cities Viladecans and Treviso.
This year, a total of 14 cities competed for the awards. An international expert panel of seven independent urban sustainability experts evaluated each application and shortlisted five finalist cities. More information is in the news item.
Source – EU Commission