European Green Capital Tallinn is taking the lead in sustainability governance

This year, Tallinn leads the network of European Green Capitals and one of Tallinn’s strategic priorities on a wider scale is to launch debates on new forms of governance, that support sustainable urban transitions and local green deals.

“We want to promote a Europe wide initiative to consolidate that knowledge and make it available – to teach each other and to learn from each other. This is why one of the flagship projects of Tallinn – European Green Capital 2023 is the creation of a competence center for urban development and sustainable management and the development of a cooperation network with other European cities and EU institutions,” Mayor of Tallinn, Mihhail Kõlvart said.

According to Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart, today's cities are facing new and growing challenges such as climate change, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, the devastating war in Ukraine and growing social and economic inequality.

“European Green Capitals must be innovative and take the lead in creating sustainable, resilient and inclusive cities of the future. The need for the consolidated leadership skills is already urgent in the context of reconstruction of the Ukrainian cities and support to Ukraine in their EU membership process,” added Mayor Kõlvart.

The Mayors of Tallinn, Grenoble (Eric Piolle) and Lahti (Pekka Timonen) were discussing the best sustainable practices from their cities and the role of European Green Capitals in achieving the Green Deal. The roundtable was moderated by Dorthe Nielsen, Executive Director of Eurocities and opened by the Estonian ambassador to Belgium, Artur Kink.

Tallinn as the current European Green Capital is focusing on biodiversity and protecting pollinators in the city, sustainability governance and green technology and sustainable innovation in the cities.

Innovation can assist cities in becoming more sustainable, so Tallinn is also focusing on green innovation in 2023, introducing the Test in Tallinn initiative to test mobility, energy efficiency and renewable energy innovation in the city and holding a green technology week and EXPO in November.

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, which is the world’s most advanced digital society, having started government e-cabinet meetings already in 1995 and having a X-road e-services system and digital signatures already over 20 years. In Estonia 99% of public services are accessible online 24/7.

More information: greentallinn.eu