December 2009

Zürich is the 6th greenest city in Europe

The first «European Green City Index», a study monitoring the climate protection efforts of major European cities, puts Zürich in sixth place, underlining the pioneering role of Zürich and the Greater Zurich Area in terms of climate protection. The «European Green City Index» was presented in December 2009 at the UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen.

The «European Green City Index» evaluated 30 major European cities in eight categories based on 30 individual environmental indicators such as consumption of water, recycling rate, and CO2 reduction. With an overall score of 82,31 out of 100, Zürich managed an excellent 6th rank behind a group of Scandinavian cities. The greenest European city is Copenhagen, followed by Stockholm and Oslo.

Switzerland’s biggest city and the center of the Greater Zurich Area also holds top positions when it comes to individual sub-indicators. For example, Zürich is ranked second in waste recycling and land use, and ranked third in CO2 emissions.

The «European Green City Index» was conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (a unit of the British Economist Group), on behalf of the German Siemens AG.

European Green City Index
 

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