Finalists for the prestigious 2026 European Green Capital and 2026 European Green Leaf Awards have been announced, including ICLEI Members Guimarães and Agueda (Portugal)! Guimarães is a finalist for the European Green Capital Award for its waste management and circular economy practices, selected alongside Heilbronn (Germany) and Klagenfurt on Lake Wörthersee (Austria). Agueda has been selected for the European Green Leaf Award for its ‘Climate Action Plan’ with the ambitious target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2050 compared to 2005. They are selected alongside Saint-Quentin (France), Sant Boi de Llobregat (Spain) and Vaasa (Finland).

The award is granted to European cities and towns committed to sustainability and finalists are chosen based on their work across several environmental indicators including air quality, water, biodiversity, green areas and sustainable land use, waste and circular economy, noise, climate change mitigation, and climate change adaptation. Following a presentation on their environmental, governance and communication strategies, the winners of these awards will be announced in the current European Green Capital, ICLEI Member Valencia (Spain) on 24 October 2024.

As Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said: “It is encouraging to see cities with ambition and determination to pursue the green transition. It is for the benefit of their citizens, their health and quality of life, but also for businesses and our ecosystems. With the Nature Restoration Law adopted, we now have clear targets for greening cities. Today’s finalists are already frontrunning in key environmental areas and can be an inspiration for others to follow.” 

The winner of the Green Capital Award will receive €600,000 and Green Leaf winners will receive €200,000. The financial prize contributes to supporting the winning cities in implementing initiatives and measures to enhance their environmental performance and reach out to citizens, especially during their winning year. Winning cities will also benefit from increased international profile, networking and new alliances, a sense of local pride, and the opportunity to become a part of a network of previous finalists and winners.

To learn more about the European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards, click here.