The European Commission has, in recent years, been increasing its focus on urban issues, as a response to the fact that approximately 359 million people – 72% of the total EU population – live in cities, towns and suburbs. The political importance of the issue is demonstrated by its inclusion in the 7th Environmental Action Programme under Priority Objective 8, entitled, Sustainable Cities: "Working together for Common Solutions". The overall objective of this policy drive is to enhance the sustainability of EU cities to achieve by 2050 that all Europeans are "living well, within the limits of the planet".

Many successful actions have already been taken at city level, but further efforts are necessary to tackle rising environmental challenges. Cities can drive the changes needed to address these challenges and contribute to improving the implementation of the EU’s environment legislation.

The Green City Accord is a movement of European mayors committed to safeguarding the natural environment, making cities cleaner, healthier and more resource-efficient. It is aligned with the European Green Deal and will be launched by the European Commission in October 2020, during the European Week of Regions and Cities.

The Green City Accord will support cities in their efforts to achieve cleaner and healthier environments, thereby improving the quality of life of city dwellers. It will mobilise cities willing to step up their actions in five areas of environmental management:

• Air: significant improvement in air quality by moving closer to respecting the WHO’s air quality guidelines and ending exceedances of EU air quality standards as soon as possible.

• Water: making significant progress in improving the quality of water bodies and the efficiency of water use.

• Nature and biodiversity: considerably increasing the extent and quality of green areas in their cities, including by restoring urban ecosystems.

• Circular economy and waste: advancing towards the circular economy, by significantly improving the management of household municipal waste and recycling, and reducing the generation of waste.

• Noise: significantly reducing noise pollution in cities and moving closer to WHO recommended levels.

The Accord will complement the Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy and build coherence with other EU urban initiatives and support the delivery of the European Green Deal and the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

To support cities in developing and implementing environmental actions, several EU funding programmes and financing instruments are available. Not just the European Green Deal's Investment Plan (€1 trillion of investments in the upcoming 7 years) but also other funds as Urban Innovative Actions, URBACT, ITERREG Europe or Life will enable cities to become cleaner and healthier.

For information on how B2EU Consulting could support your organisation in developing a funding strategy and in unlocking different financing tools for your operation in the green sector, please don’t hesitate to contact us at: info@b2eu-consulting.com.