Cities across the world are making strides to lessen their carbon footprints and rely less on non-renewable energy sources that are harmful to the environment. In efforts to combat climate change and create all-around healthier ecosystems, these cities are really going above and beyond to do just that:
Copenhagen, Denmark
TheMysteriousWorld lists Denmark as the greenest city in the world, and it’s not hard to see why—it’s incredibly bike-friendly, with more than 100 bike hiring centres and bike shares. In a population of nearly 600,000, roughly half of them opt to bike around the city rather than drive. As a city, Copenhagen aims to become carbon-neutral by 2025, and given their expertise at recycling, composting, and preference for offshore wind turbines, it could very much be a reality. To encourage citizens to lead greener lives, the government promotes installing enhanced heating systems, windows, solar panels, and insulation, which makes even 71% of their hotel rooms “eco-friendly.”
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Thanks to the Amsterdam city government’s project, Amsterdam Smart City, Amsterdam is working towards reducing overall carbon dioxide emission and increasing saved energy. To accomplish this, residents are encouraged to recycle, install solar panels, use electrical car and bus services, and choose biking over driving. Amsterdam is already known for being a bike-friendly city—its city layout of canals and narrow streets make bikes the more sensible choice, to begin with. Fun fact: Amsterdam has more bicycles than people if that’s any indication of how serious they are about their cycling. If biking is unrealistic, they can drive an electric car. With more than 300 recharge stations around Amsterdam, there’s never a fear of running out of fuel.
Stockholm, Sweden
There’s just something about those Scandinavian cities! Out of 6519 square kilometres of land, ⅓ of that space is set aside for parks and green space. The city alone boasts twelve large parks.
If residents set up additional green space on their land, the city government steps in to help as part of an incentive program. This has been working so well that Stockholm was the first city to be awarded the European Green Capital eight years ago. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Stockholm also holds the record for cutting down their greenhouse gas emission by 25% since 1990. And, as you may have guessed, yes, people in Stockholm love their bikes, too.
Stockholm is also very big on waste recycling and turning that waste into biogas to alleviate the need for fossil fuels. It’s their goal to become a fossil-fuel free city by 2050.