Ladies and gentlemen, welcome onboard. We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts and power down all sustainable electronics as we take off to explore the 15 greenest cities in the world.
Roughly half of us are urban dwellers, accounting for 75% of global energy consumption and 80% of energy emissions. By 2050, two thirds of the global population (around 7 billion people) will live in cities. Which means cities will account for an even higher percentage of global emissions.
The need for green cities grows right alongside the cities themselves.
Over the past decade, many cities introduced their first climate plans, banned forms of single use plastic, or made significant shifts towards circular economies, greener urban areas, and renewable energy. Let’s take a look at the best of best and see who could qualify for being the greenest city in the world.
Contents: What Is The Greenest City In The world?
- Vienna, Austria Jump to section
- Berlin, Germany Jump to section
- Madrid, Spain Jump to section
- Curitiba, Brazil Jump to section
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands Jump to section
- Singapore Jump to section
- Stockholm, Sweden Jump to section
- Copenhagen, Denmark Jump to section
- London, England Jump to section
- Canberra, Australia Jump to section
- Wellington, New Zealand Jump to section
- Washington DC, USA Jump to section
- Vancouver, Canada Jump to section
- Paris, France Jump to section
- Durban (eThekwini), South Africa Jump to section
- What Defines An Eco-Friendly City? Jump to section
Vienna, Austria
Vienna sets a high bar in terms of conservation, circularity, wastewater management, clean air and water, public transportation, and green spaces. In fact, green spaces make up almost half of Vienna’s area—higher than any other European city.
The city boasts a 96% residential recycling rate and has bans on plastic bags. If traveling there, don’t forget your reusable bag when checking out one of the many local markets. Don’t forget a water bottle, too, which you can fill with natural spring water from any tap.
Berlin, Germany
A C40 Cities member since 2005, Berlin has taken numerous actions to support clean air, divest from fossil fuels, and bring nature into urban areas via green spaces.
The city has an impressive walking and cycling network, making it one of the most pedestrian-friendly and greenest cities to live in. Combined with public transportation systems like the U-bahn underground rail system means Berlin has, by far, the fewest cars per person among German cities.
You’ll also find numerous repair and recycling centers, food rescue programs, organic farming systems, and an entire department store devoted to sustainable fashion.
Madrid, Spain
In 2018, the city introduced Madrid Central, a city center only accessible on foot and by public transportation. Capable of reducing emissions by 40% by eliminating passenger cars, it’s considered one of Europe’s most significant air quality improvement efforts.
Not to mention they boast 300,000 air purifying trees—one for every 20 inhabitants—among 6,400 hectares of green spaces.
This potential greenest capital in the world has also embraced sustainable food and farming systems. Even their soccer (er, football) team, Real Madrid, partnered with a meatless farm to promote more sustainable, vegetarian eating habits.
Curitiba, Brazil
Curitiba’s sustainability efforts are designed to respect its culture and rich history, and are accessible to everyone.. Their Free University for the Environment, for example, enables both wealthy and economically disadvantaged citizens to learn about sustainable living.
Citizens receive food and tokens to the city’s rapid bus system in exchange for utilizing its impressive recycling program, and since the 1970s, they’ve planted more than 1.5 million trees and opened 28 public parks.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
If there’s any city in the world that needs to be concerned about climate change, it’s Amsterdam. Sure, having the cleanest water in the world is great but when the entire city lies below sea level, it doesn’t exactly quell those flooding fears as ocean levels rise.
With a $150 million Climate Fund, the city has the motivation, money, and measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change. This includes ambitious goals to reduce the city’s emissions by 55% by 2030, and 95% by 2050—by which point they also intend to be fully circular (i.e. nothing single use). Within the next decade, their water and road transportation will be exclusively emission-free.
Individual Amsterdammers are making a positive impact, too, evidenced by the abundance of cyclists. It doesn’t hurt that cycling is the easiest way to get around the city.
Singapore
Considered a city, state, and nation all in one, Singapore is many things at once, including a contendor to be the most sustainable city in Asia.
Which is exactra impressive considering that just over 50 years ago, Singapore was polluted, lacked healthy sanitation, and faced high unemployment rates. Realizing economic development couldn’t come at the expense of social or environmental sustainability, it transformed into the “City in Garden” it’s known as today, comprised of a whopping 50% green spaces.
With more than 80% of residents in public housing, Singapore has impressive plans to build a 42,000-home eco ‘smart’ city. This won’t just house more people, but will also preserve green space, consider future hot temperature trends, and promote sustainable transportation.
They have other ambitious plans for the future, and an entire division of the government (known as Cleantech) to grow the renewable energy, green building, and conservation sectors.
Stockholm, Sweden
The first country in the world to pass an environmental protection act in 1967, Sweden, one of the most sustainable countries in the world, is a role model.
In its capital city of Stockholm, 100% of operations are powered by renewables, 99% of solid waste is recycled, and 80% of hotels are third-party certified to be sustainable.
By 2040, the city aims to be totally fossil-free and climate-positive. To do so, they’re taking a holistic approach that considers transportation, tourism, hotels, and restaurants, all while meeting the needs of a growing population.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Deemed the most sustainable city in the world by TimeOut, Copenhagen stands out for its unique approach. Enter CopenHill, a multi-purpose urban mountain that transformed a waste-to-energy plant into a place to ski, snowboard, run, hike, and climb.
Their more conventional approaches include a pledge for carbon-neutrality by 2025, residential areas constructed out of material sourced from abandoned homes, and a booming circular fashion scene.
They also have a target 70% recycling rate and numerous urban farms—some of which use regenerative methods to grow high carbon sequestering crops like seaweed.
London, England
Home to more than 9 million people, London still maintains enough public green spaces and parks to account for over 40% of the city’s entire area. And all that natural rainfall keeps them well irrigated!
Some parts of the city are being redesigned to become pedestrian and bicycle-only zones, while others will be totally internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle-free. Heavily investing in 40% less-emitting diesel-electric hybrid buses, they’re also consistently improving upon their mass public transport systems.
Perhaps most impressive is the ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2030, revised from an earlier plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Did we mention all the zero waste shops London boasts, or the plethora of London thrift stores spilling onto the streets (Camden Lock style)?
Canberra, Australia
The federal capital of Australia, Canberra, is considered one of the most sustainable cities for a few reasons.
First, for every 100 particles of air, just 13.89 are polluted (compared to 90+ for cities like Delhi, Beirut, and Dhaka). That’s partially because 48% of its energy comes from solar and wind renewables, thanks in part to generous zero-interest loans for residential installations of rooftop solar panels. Not to mention improved efficiency in public housing buildings.
Canberra also boasts an excellent public transport system and is home to the highest number of electric vehicle charge stations per capita.
Wellington, New Zealand
New Zealand’s capital Wellington also ranks highly for having a low pollution index (13.95). Just behind #1 Auckland, Wellington is considered the fourth most “liveable” city. The city scores well on healthcare, stability, culture, environment, education, and infrastructure.
It intends to remain one of the best places to live by becoming a Biophilic City—one that preserves natural capital by incorporating it into all areas of land use, open space management, and urban design.
An example is the first fully-fenced eco-sanctuary in the world, Zealandia.
Washington DC, USA
As of 2019, none of the most populous American cities are on track to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and as of the 2024 SDG Index, the USA still only ranks 46th in the world.
But some cities are doing better than others. Washington D.C. tops the list of the greenest cities in the US, alongside San Francisco, Seattle, and New York.
It was one of the first global cities to achieve a high rating for LEED-certified buildings, is home to one of the largest municipal solar projects, and the Clean Energy DC Act (100% tier-1 renewable energy by 2032) is one of the most aggressive in the US.
D.C. also fares well when it comes to health, education, gender equality, poverty reduction, clean water, circularity, climate action, sustainability commitments, nature walks, and preserving life on land.
Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver’s Greenest City Action Plan makes it one of the most eco-friendly cities, certainly in North America.
Over a decade-long effort (2010-2020), they upped the use of hydroelectricity, rolled out sustainable transportation systems, significantly increased recycling rates, invested in highly energy-efficient buildings, retrofitted existing buildings, and developed targets for transitioning to a fully green economy. Today, 95% of the city’s electricity comes from renewables and it boasts the lowest per capita greenhouse gas emissions of any major city in North America.
They also have their eyes set on becoming a global leader in urban food systems, having already significantly increased their production and sourcing of local food in recent years and have an outstanding community of zero waste stores.
Paris, France
We rarely think of the infamously indulgent French capital as a green city, but it’s trying to change its reputation.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo has placed sustainability at the forefront of her campaigns since 2014, during which time the city established over 900 miles of bike lanes and, starting in 2024, will ban diesel vehicles. Petrol cars will follow suit in 2030. Speaking of bans, they also banned plastic produce packaging in 2021—following France becoming the first country to ban plastic plates and cutlery.
By 2026, more than 170,000 trees will be planted, including four ‘urban forests.’ By 2030, they plan to have 50% of the urban area converted into green spaces.
Durban (eThekwini), South Africa
Durban (or eThekwini), formerly recognized as the world’s greenest city according to the Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index (HUGSI), has taken steps to divest from fossil fuels, support cleaner air and equity, and bring more nature to urban areas. Not only has the C40 member introduced more indigenous trees and exotic plants, but as one of the world’s 35 Global Biodiversity Hotspots, it’s taking significant strides to protect its natural biomes and increase biodiversity on the whole.
It plans to become carbon neutral by 2050 and is in the process of constructing a 400 mW solar plant to help run on 40% renewables by 2030.
What Defines An Eco-Friendly City?
Given the complexity of determining a green city, there’s no concrete answer when it comes to determine which concrete jungle is the most sustainable. Metrics and standards vary by different organizations, but some things most experts consider when defining the greenest city in the world include:
- Green space
- Public transportation and infrastructure for bicycles
- Local food production and markets
- Renewable energy
- Recycling rates
- Consumption targets and climate plans
- Bans on single-use plastics
- Air quality and pollution
- Waste policies
- Transportation-related CO₂ emissions
- Affordability and accessibility
- Livability
- Pollution levels
- Organic farming
- Alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals
That’s a lot, we know, but thankfully, there are some efforts out there to make this a little less confusing for the leaders in charge of implementing such changes. Organizations like C40 provide a network for mayors to collaborate and make commitments to an equitable and sustainable future.
Other organizations have also established relevant methodologies when it comes to measuring and ranking these green cities’ efforts:
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- Resonance Consultancy’s 2020 World’s Greenest Cities Index
- Schroders European Sustainable Cities Index
- Arcadis Citizen Centric 2018 Sustainable Cities Index
- The Global Destination Sustainability Movement GSD-Index