City of Vaasa among the finalists of the European Green Leaf 2026 competition

– The Green Leaf competition is a great way to highlight Vaasa’s leadership in climate and energy issues. We are the energy capital of the Nordic region, and in addition to our world-class expertise in energy technology, we now want to highlight solutions that create healthy environments for our residents. For example, the city’s stormwater solutions and the Aurora Botnia, the world’s greenest passenger ship, are great examples of the city’s ambition. Vaasa’s excellence has now been recognised by an impartial jury, and therefore a place among the finalists is already a victory in itself, rejoices Suvi Aho, Strategy and Regional Services Manager from the City of Vaasa.

– One of the reasons we entered the competition is that all candidate cities receive valuable feedback from independent experts on the effectiveness of our environmental efforts compared to other European cities. This will give us valuable peer support on how to improve the level of environmental protection in the future, says Energy and Climate Specialist Johanna Punkari.

The finalists for the 2026 European Green Leaf Award for cities with less than 100 000 inhabitants are Agueda (Portugal), Saint-Quentin (France), Sant Boi de Llobregat (Spain) and Vaasa (Finland). In the category of cities with more than 100 000 inhabitants, the finalists are Heilbronn (Germany), Guimarães (Portugal) and Klagenfurt am Wörthersee (Austria).

Winner receives a cash prize and international visibility

The finalist cities will present their environmental plans and communication strategies to the jury in October. The winners will be announced in this year’s European Green Capital, Valencia, Spain, on 24 October 2024.

The European Green Leaf title is awarded to one or two cities. Each Green Leaf winner will receive a cash prize of 200 000 euros, and the cities will host a series of international events during the title year.

The European Green Capital and Green Leaf competitions are very well known and highly regarded in Europe. The finalists will attract significant international attention, boosting tourism and  investment and cooperation opportunities. The award also brings about lasting benefits, providing the winning cities with resources to collaborate with residents and to implement ambitious urban changes that will improve the urban environment and attract investors.

With the Green Capital and Green Leaf labels, the European Commission wants to highlight the central role of cities in protecting the environment. Cities have the resources to enable innovative, sustainable practices and to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of large populations. In addition, their size and scale and committed residents make urban areas influential environmental policy leaders.

– Being a Green Leaf finalist is a great endorsement of Vaasa’s role in global climate work. The energy sector, in particular, is undergoing a major technological shift towards more environmentally responsible modes of production. The positive climate impacts of Vaasa’s energy sector products are globally significant ­– something that the people of Vaasa can be proud of, says Mayor Tomas Häyry.

Read the European Commission’s press release on the subject.