Helsinki, Espoo, and Tampere drop out of race for environmental recognition

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The competition for the European Green Capital title 2010 and 2011 has now entered its final stages, but Helsinki, Espoo and Tampere are no longer in the running, as the three cites were all eliminated from the final eight.
      The evaluation panel has shortlisted eight candidates out of the total of 35 European cities who put in their applications for the title.
     
The shortlisted cities include Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen in the Nordic region, as well as the German cities of Hamburg, Freiburg, and Münster. In addition, Amsterdam of The Netherlands and Bristol in the UK also met the competition selection criteria.
      The award will be given to a city that is committed to ongoing and ambitious goals for further environmental improvement and sustainable development, while improving public health and the quality of life of its citizens.
      In their applications, each city was asked to provide information on the rate of pollution of their urban traffic arrangements, environmental protection, green areas, and energy supply, among others.
     
The European Commission wants to use the competition to remind the member states that four out of five Europeans live in towns and cities, and that it is possible to improve the urban environment in many ways.
      The European Commission has promised that the winner will get a lot of international publicity.
      The idea of a European Green Capital was originally conceived on the initiative of the former City Mayor of Tallinn Jüri Ratas two years ago.
      The name of the winner will be announced next spring.


Links:
  European Commission: European Green Capital

Helsingin Sanomat