Today, European Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, will officially hand over the title of European Green Capital for 2016 from Bristol to Ljubljana.
The European Green Capital Award rewards EU cities’ efforts and commitment to improving the urban environment, boosting awareness of the need for environmental change at the city level.
As European Green Capital 2016, Ljubljana will act as ambassador for sustainable urban development, sharing and promoting best practices that have been tried and tested in the Slovenian capital.
The Commission is also developing a new voluntary tool which any city can use to benchmark and monitor its environmental performance, based on the 12 criteria used to select Green Capitals. The aim is to invite all European cities to improve their urban environment and quality of life. The tool is expected to be launched in June.
