Fifty cities across Europe have signed the Green City Accord (GCA), committing to push forward ambitious efforts to create a greener, cleaner urban future.

With the signatures of ICLEI Member Alba Iulia (Romania), alongside those of Grenoble (France) and Košice (Slovakia), the Green City Accord has reached an exciting milestone: 50 cities from across Europe have officially committed to addressing pressing environmental issues.

This European Commission initiative aims to guide signatory cities, as they pioneer innovative and collaborative responses to environmental challenges in five key areas: air, water, noise pollution, waste management & circular economy, and nature & biodiversity. The GCA also fosters peer-learning opportunities and the exchange of best practices, which allow environmental champions from every corner of Europe to engage with one another and improve residents’ quality of life.

Audrey Linkenheld, Deputy Mayor of ICLEI Member Lille (France) explains: “For us, joining the Green City Accord is obviously an opportunity to compare our practices with those of other cities on a European scale, but also to pool the monitoring indicators that we have on certain subjects… As far as Lille is concerned, and in particular the city of Lille, we are ready…to share with the Green City Accord network what we are already doing in terms of greening the city.”

Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, Mayor of ICLEI Member Malmö (Sweden) underscores that: “Everyone who lives and works in the city needs to be involved [in GCA environmental processes], and it's all about making it easy to choose climate-smart solutions. As when we build new urban areas, we make sure the stakeholders are on board. Smart infrastructure from the start.”

For his part, Gorka Urtaran, Mayor of ICLEI Member Vitoria-Gasteiz (Basque Country) states: “On the one hand [the Green City Accord] seemed to us a perfect complement for the European Green Deal since it widens the scope of action, on the other hand…we also want to take another step forward in our commitments regarding sustainability, we would like to be an active part in the creation of a greener, cleaner and healthier Europe.”

The European Commission is supported by ICLEI Europe, Eurocities and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) in developing and implementing the Accord.

To learn more about the Green City Accord and how to join, please click here.