Green City Accord

The following cities have signed the Accord:

Objectives and scope

Cities are critical to meeting the EU's environmental objectives. Many successful actions have already been taken at city level, but further efforts are necessary to tackle rising environmental challenges.

Signatories’ commitments

Signatory cities will commit to tackling the most urgent environmental challenges facing their cities. By joining the Accord, mayors agree to step up their efforts in five key areas by 2030:

• air: significant improvement in air quality by moving closer to respecting the WHO’s air quality guidelines and ending exceedances of EU air quality standards as soon as possible
• water: making significant progress in improving the quality of water bodies and the efficiency of water use
• nature and biodiversity: considerable progress in conserving and enhancing urban biodiversity, including through an increase in the extent and quality of green areas in cities, and by halting the loss of and restoring urban ecosystems
• circular economy and waste: advance towards the circular economy by securing a significant improvement in the management of household municipal waste, an important reduction in waste generation and landfilling, and a substantial increase in re-use, repair and recycling
• noise: significantly reducing noise pollution in cities and moving closer to WHO recommended levels

In each of these areas, signatories commit to:

• establishing baseline levels and setting ambitious targets that go beyond minimum requirements set by EU laws within two years of signing
• implementing policies and programmes in an integrated manner, to achieve their targets by 2030
• reporting on implementation and progress every three years

Monitoring framework

Reporting is a core component of the Green City Accord.

Signatory cities are required to report their progress in the five different domains of the Green City Accord. The Monitoring & Reporting system - currently still under development - will reflect progress towards these goals.

To monitor progress towards the Green City Accord’s goals and allow for comparability across cities, a small set of mandatory indicators has been established. All signatories will use these indicators for reporting purposes.

You will find the list of mandatory indicators below.

 

Why cities should join?

By signing the Green City Accord, cities will become part of a growing movement to safeguard the natural environment and improve the quality of life of Europeans. Cities will also be supporting the European Green Deal and the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In particular, cities will:

• gain Europe-wide visibility in recognition of their environmental actions and achievements
• contribute to shaping EU environmental policy
• become part of a community of like-minded cities driving the transition towards a clean and healthy Europe
• increase their transparency, accountability and credibility within the local community
• gain access to information concerning EU funding opportunities
• participate in networking events and benefit from capacity-building opportunities
• receive tailored guidance and support via a dedicated helpdesk
• benchmark their achievements against progress made in other cities

For more information, see our brochure

 

Who is eligible?

The Green City Accord is open to any cities of 20,000 inhabitants and above located in the European Union. 

The term “city” means an urban area with an administrative unit governed by a city council or another form of a democratically elected body. This includes large metropolitan areas, as well as agglomerations.

Cities in European Economic Area countries and in Switzerland will be able to join in the second phase. Other cities in the wider European region may be eligible to join at a later stage.

In view of the commitments to be undertaken, cities are invited to read carefully the Green City Accord’s commitment document and obligations before signing.

Sign the commitment document

The Green City Accord can be signed at any time. Please note that only the Mayor (or equivalent representative) can sign.

If your city is interested in signing the Accord, please notify the Green City Accord secretariat by sending an email to contact@greencityaccord.eu. Once the secretariat confirms eligibility, there are two steps to become a signatory:

1. The Accord is presented to the municipal council (or equivalent decision-making body).
2. Once an official resolution has been adopted by the council, the Mayor – or equivalent representative – signs the Green City Accord political commitment document electronically. To sign, please download the Green City Accord political commitment text here and click on ‘sign now’.

The signatures of the political commitment are collected by using a EUSurvey form (it is not used as a survey in this case). To upload the signed political commitment document in the system, an EU login needs to be set up. More information about how to create a EU login is available here.

Please note that when you enter the signed political commitment in the system, you will also have to upload a copy of the Municipal Council decision in the national language, unless an English translation is available.

Organisations interested in promoting the Green City Accord, in mobilising cities to become Green City Accord signatories, and/or supporting signatories in implementing their Green City Accord commitments are invited to come on board as Supporters.

Supporters may include: networks and associations of local and regional authorities; provinces and regions; national authorities (e.g. relevant ministries); local, regional and national thematic agencies (e.g. environment agencies); international organisations; business associations or federations; universities and research organisations; think tanks; non-governmental and civil society organisations. Applications from other organisations will be considered on a case by case basis.

Benefits of becoming a Green City Accord Supporter

• Become part of a community of cities and stakeholders committed to improving the environment, and have the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience.
• Participate in and/or co-organise Green City Accord events (e.g. workshops, webinars) and capacity-building activities for cities.
• Be part of a key EU environmental initiative.

Sign the Green City Accord Supporters’ Statement

There are two steps to becoming a Green City Accord Supporter:

1.  Fill in the registration form

2. After the Green City Accord secretariat confirms your eligibility, complete and sign the Green City Accord Supporters’ Statement and email it to the secretariat.

To submit the registration form, an EU login needs to be set up. More information about how to create a EU login is available here.

Current supporters

• Circular Regions
• Comunidade Intermunicipal da Região de Coimbra
• Comunidade Intermunicipal do Cávado
• European Environmental Bureau
• Fundo de Apoio Municipal
• Green City Network
• Omnia Torino
• Polish Zero Waste Association
• Sendzimir Foundation
• Union of the Baltic Cities Sustainable Cities Commission
• University of Bologna
• Water Europe
• Zero Waste Europe

Several EU funding programmes and financing instruments are available to support cities in developing and implementing environmental actions.

• LIFE
• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
• Cohesion Fund
• Urban Innovative Actions
• URBACT
• INTERREG Europe
• Horizon 2020
• Horizon Europe
• European Green Capital and Green Leaf Awards

Further resources on EU funding:

• European Commission Funding & Tender Opportunities
• EU Regional and Urban Development, Funding Opportunities
• URBIS – European Investment Bank (EIB) urban investment advisory platform
• Circular City Funding Guide
• Covenant of Mayors interactive funding guide

For more information, check out our most frequently asked questions

 

News

Fifty cities commit to going above and beyond for the environment

Thirteen European cities have signed the Green City Accord 

Green City Accord press release

Events 

16 June - Online Workshop: A closer look at indicators for monitoring and reporting

Past events

5 May 2021 - Green City Accord - Online workshop with cities in the Baltic states

7 May 2021 - Green City Accord - Online workshop with the French cities

22 October 2020 - Launch event of the Green City Accord

 

For more information and any questions concerning the planning, implementation and monitoring of the Accord, please contact: contact@greencityaccord.eu