The search is now on for European Green Capital 2014

Four cities – Stockholm, Hamburg, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Nantes – have been awarded the title so far, from 2010 to 2013 respectively. The award aims to reward best practice, encourage further improvement and provide role models for other urban settlements.

Lars Fogh Mortensen, heading the European Environment Agency (EEA) work on sustainable consumption and production, will take part in judging the award. “This is a great opportunity for cities in Europe to benchmark their environmental performance against others, and for the greenest and most innovative to be recognised as a role model,” Mortensen said.

Four out of five Europeans now live in towns and cities. Most of the environmental challenges facing our society originate from urban areas, but urban areas also foster the commitment and innovation needed to resolve these problems.

All cities across Europe with more than 200,000 inhabitants can apply for the title of European Green Capital 2014. The award is open to EU Member States, Turkey, FYROM, Croatia, Montenegro and Iceland (as candidate countries), and Norway and Liechtenstein (as European Economic Area countries). In countries where there is no city with more than 200,000 inhabitants, the largest city is eligible to apply.

Cities can apply via an online application form. The deadline for applications for the 2014 title is 14 October 2011. The winner will be announced in June 2012, after it has been judged by an international jury supported by a panel of renowned experts in different environmental fields.

Hamburg holds the Green Capital title for 2011. You can see a video about the city here.

UPDATE: 17 October, 2011

The deadline for submitting applications for the EGCA is now closed. Some 19 cities from 14 European countries have applied for the 2014 award:

The applications will now be evaluated by an expert panel and this will include qualitative evaluations and a peer review of each application based on 12 indicator areas. Following these evaluations, 3-4 cities will be shortlisted for the 2014 title. The shortlisted cities will be invited to present their action plans and communication strategies to a Jury, which will deliberate and then make a final decision. The announcement of the European Green Capital for 2014 is planned to take place at a prestigious award ceremony in June 2012 in Vitoria-Gasteiz. Europe’s first Green Capital in 2010 was Stockholm, Hamburg is this year’s winner, the Spanish city of Vitoria-Gasteiz will inherit the title in 2012 and, in 2013, the crown will be passed to Nantes in France.

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