The Green City Accord (GCA) is an initiative launched by the European Commission in October 2020, with the objective of improving the quality of life for all Europeans and accelerating the implementation of the EU Green Deal. The initiative invites mayors in the European Union to join the Green City Accord and to commit to higher ambition to make their cities cleaner, healthier and more resource-efficient by 2030.
The Green City Accord aims to raise the environmental standards across EU member states: by signing it, cities highlight their willingness to be European frontrunners in the fight against climate change.
For this, the GCA focuses on 5 thematic areas: Air quality; Water; Nature and Biodiversity; Circular Economy and Waste; Noise. In each of these areas, cities establish baseline levels and set ambitious targets after signing, to implement efficient policies, and report back to the Commission about their progress.
The signatories’ cities receive support from the help desk, such as reporting tools, indicator guides or a collection of best practices, and get access to exclusive events and workshops.
CEMR’s role in the initiative was to organise workshops and information sessions towards its members, to disseminate and promote the initiative widely in the EU. CEMR also took part in the high-level events organisation and in the awareness-raising campaign.
