Fedra Vanhuyse, the Finance and Procurement Strategist of Viable Cities, was a speaker during the session Thriving like an oak on the opening events of European Green Capital Tallinn. The key points were:
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We need courage to implement climate action strategies – there are too many crises at the moment, and only 10% of the global commitments made have been fulfilled (Stochholm+50 assessment)
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Some of the previous winners have been courageous in the implementation, such as Vitoria-Gasteiz (25% of the city is pedestrianized); Nantes (who is exploring the 15 minute city); the city of Oslo (who removed 760 parking spots and is setting high sustainability standards in its procurement) and the city of Lahti (who consulted extensively on its spatial master plan, its sustainable urban mobility plan and its environmental plan).
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Overall, courageous leadership at city level means taking space (literally and figuratively speaking) and using your power (to regulate and disincentivize unsustainable behaviour). Important to note also is that some measures that cities can deploy require little investments, and, following proper assessment of social impacts, could be designed in such a way that they don’t impact vulnerable populations disproportionally. Building collaborations within the city, with neighbouring cities, and with superordinate governments (regional, national, European) are key; that’s why we are also looking at consumption-based emissions (among others in Viable Cities)
Agenda: https://onlineexpo.com/en/green-capital-tallinn-opening-events-2023/
