Oslo is another Scandinavian city after Stockholm and Copenhagen and has won the European Green Capital awards. These were awarded for a city that has achieved in green urban areas. Amazingly, this is the third time the city of Oslo was selected for the award.
This city is the capital of Norway with the largest population in the country. The year 2017 is the third year of this city enrolled in the greenest city award in Europe, as well as being the third time was selected as the winner. Oslo will be a future-oriented city and a sustainable city in the world.
There are many processes to go through during enrollment, with this winning award, the city officials are also very happy because their efforts finally paid off with satisfactory results.
The European Green City Award is an award-winning event based on the European Commission’s initiative. The award of the greenest city is done every year since 2010 where one of the cities in Europe will get the award. The award winner will be announced 18 months earlier and on Friday, June 1, 2017, the judges have announced the 2019 award winners at the city theater of Essen, Germany-city of 2017 European Green Capital winner.
Any city in Europe is eligible to enroll in the award, with a record of having a population of over 100,000 inhabitants. The award honors high environmental standards, sustainable urban development, and creates green jobs.
Victory indicators are seen in many aspects, including local transport, biodiversity, air quality, and waste and noise management. On the assessment, Oslo is considered the best one and deserve the title of the greenest city in Europe.
Oslo is a densely populated city, as well as a green city, chose not only because of the city’s low carbon footprint, which is about 1.9 tons per capita per year. One of the judges of the European green city award, Katja Rosenbohm said that the city’s population also has a very ambitious target, such as free cars by 2050 for example.
Only a small portion of the population of this city owns a car. It becomes very obvious that everyone there prefers walking, cycling, or traveling by train and subway everywhere. The city’s train system is powered by hydroelectric power.
85% of schoolchildren go to school on foot, bicycling or using public transport. 94% of household waste generated by the population is recycled so it does not become pollution. The majority of the population lives near public green spaces and they use the space very often. Locals are always active throughout the year, enjoying public parks and waterways are always available even during winter. That is the real evidence of their commitment to the environment.
The city of Oslo has the lowest CO2 emissions from all metropolitan cities in Europe. City councilors prefer renewable energy sources to replace heating oil in city buildings in 2012. That includes the courageous actions the city takes, given how much energy the metropolis uses. To support and promote energy efficiency, the government also provides incentives for new buildings.
All fossil-fueled buses operating in the Norwegian capital will be converted to biofuels in 2011. The air quality in this city is very good and the streets are free from trash. This is what makes the city in the richest country in the world has a low carbon footprint. The city is also famous for its green business.
Northern countries, in general, tend to protect the environment well, including Norway. This country is rich so it feels easy to invest in new technologies that are more environmentally friendly. But it’s not just about money being taken into account. Without a determination and good cooperation between individuals, a green city will be difficult to achieve. To sum up, all cities have the possibility to become green cities like Oslo as long as they are strongly committed to such determination.
