A delegation from UNDP Belarus visited ICLEI Member Freiburg (Germany) for a week-long study tour at the end of October, 2017 to see good examples of green urban development in practice. Coordinated by ICLEI Europe, the twenty-member delegation was welcomed to Freiburg at the City Hall by Günter Burger from the city’s International Relations department, and Ruud Schuthof, ICLEI Europe’s Deputy Regional Director.

A model "Green City", Freiburg is internationally recognised for its achievements in public transport, renewable energy, participatory planning and pedestrianised energy-efficient districts. The Belarus delegation visited the model district “Vauban”, a former French military barracks redeveloped into an eco-district, and “Rieselfeld”, a former sewage field turned into a model greenfield district. The delegation also visited the Solar Info Centre, where they had the opportunity to learn more about the “Freiburg Mix” of political, economic, geographic, and attitudinal factors that puts solar energy at the heart of sustainable regional and urban development.

Thanks to Freiburg’s closeness to the French border, one day of the study visit was dedicated to visiting ICLEI Member Strasbourg. The challenge of energy transition is strongly felt the Strasbourg Eurométropole, one of the pioneer territories in renewable energies in France, whose goal is to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020.

Alongside these visits, the delegation received presentations and workshops from experts on a variety of topics including climate policy (mitigation, adaptation and energy), urban governance and social innovation, resource efficiency, biodiversity, and smart cities.

Lessons learned from Freiburg and Strasbourg on successful urban development initiatives will be used as part of plans to reduce CO2 emissions and stimulate green urban growth in small and medium sized cities across Belarus.

For more information on the UNDP Belarus programme, click here.