Greenest city in Europe

Copenhagen is the greenest major city in Europe. This is the conclusion reached by a unique study of the environmental sustainability of 30 major cities in 30 European countries that Siemens presented during the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

While political leaders from all over the world are gathered in Copenhagen to form an international climate agreement, Siemens publishes its first European Green City Index, which proclaims Copenhagen Europe's greenest city.

The study by Siemens of the environment in 30 European cities finds Copenhagen to be the metropolis in Europe, which overall performs best in the various environmental categories.

Copenhagen the world's first CO2-neutral capital

The index is divided into eight categories, among others CO2 emissions, environmental policy and recycling. Copenhagen is among the seven best cities in all eight categories and is the city that scores highest, and thus is the greenest.

It fits well with Copenhagen's ambition to be the world's first CO2 neutral capital in 2025. The goal is for example to build more windmill parks, use green energy and have cars that run on hydrogen or electricity.

The European Green City Index focusses on cities, as 80 percent of the global CO2 emissions come from cities, although only 50 percent of the world's population lives in cities.

Big difference between countries

There are significant differences between European cities in the survey. Generally Eastern European cities do not perform very well, whereas the Scandinavian capitals performs the best. Stockholm ranks second and Oslo third.

According to the study the reason for that is that the Scandinavian countries are more prosperous, and the environment has been on the agenda for many years. Thus they have invested in sustainable production.

European Green City Index