Vilnius is the European Green Capital for 2025
Yesterday, on October 5th, the European Green Capital and European Green Leaf Awards ceremony took place, announcing Vilnius as the European Green Capital for 2025, and both Treviso and Viladecans as European Green Leaf cities.
Tallinn Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart stated that holding the title of European Green Capital has given Tallinn confidence and motivation to act more boldly and innovatively. “At the same time, the title made it easier to focus on several important topics that required a change in people’s mindset and brought some initiatives to the city. For example, the Test-in-Tallinn initiative provides a favorable environment for green technology companies to test their solutions. Another innovation that significantly impacts Tallinn’s sustainability and resilience is the joint venture with Utilitas, which will start testing, piloting, and using renewable energy derived from sea and wastewater in district heating and cooling,” he added. “Winning the title of Green Capital is not the end or the beginning – it is a milestone on the path to achieving climate neutrality and making our world better,” concluded the Mayor.
Virginijus Sinkevičiuse, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, stated that throughout the year as the Green Capital, Tallinn has tirelessly worked to create environmentally crucial innovations for its citizens. “Tallinn has been a true inspiration to cities across Europe,” he added.
The Commissioner emphasized that it is crucial that a city is there for its citizens because true success comes when everyone is involved in the efforts. The European Green Capital and Green Leaf awards recognize cities that do this successfully.
The candidates for the 2025 European Green Capital title were Graz (Austria), Guimarães (Portugal), and Vilnius (Lithuania). The finalists for the European Green Leaf title were Treviso (Italy) and Viladecans (Spain).
The most remarkable part of the evening was the premiere of the nature film “Rohelisem Tallinn” (“Greener Tallinn”) created for the European Green Capital Awards by Joosep Matjus and Katri Rannastu, featuring original music “Aastaajad”(“Seasons”) composed by Tauno Aints and performed together with the film by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Tõnu Kaljuste. A speech titled “A city full of life” was delivered by young Derek Kadu from Tallinn English College.