Lahti wins European Green Capital Award for 2021

The city of Lahti in southern Finland on Thursday won the European Commission's European Green Capital Award for 2021 as the city is particularly strong in the fields of air quality, waste, green growth and eco-innovation.

Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, awarded the title at the official awards ceremony in Oslo, Norway, which is the current European Green Capital.

Apart from the title, Lahti will receive a financial incentive of 350,000 euros from the European Commission to kick-start its European Green Capital year.

"I congratulate Lahti for winning this tough competition at such a pivotal time for our planet," Vella said in a statement. "The European Green Capital 2021 title brings a lot of responsibility to be a strong role model for cities across Europe, as we all work together to preserve and restore our planet and tackle climate change."

"Lahti has the environmental credibility and passion to embrace that responsibility and be an inspiring international leader," he said.

The European Green Capital Award aims to recognise the environmental achievements of European cities and to inspire others to take positive action in making their cities fit for life.

Starting in 2010, one European city is selected each year as the European Green Capital of the year. Last year, the Portuguese city of Lisbon won the European Green Capital Award for 2020.

The finalists for the European Green Capital 2021 were Lahti of Finland and Lille and Strasbourg of France.

During the awards ceremony in Oslo on Thursday, the Irish city of Limerick and Belgian city of Mechelen jointly won the title of European Green Leaf 2020 for smaller cities.

Limerick, was commended for its ongoing investments leading to improved air quality and noise levels in the city. Mechelen was recognised for its dedication to sustainable urban mobility, nature, biodiversity, sustainable land use, and waste and circular economy.

European Green Leaf Awards are given to towns and cities with populations between 20,000 to 100,000 citizens for their potential to act as "green ambassadors" for smaller cities.