Grenoble as Green Capital 2022

Grenoble - made by Nicole Herrero

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Last week, the Green Capital 2022 title was awarded to the city of Grenoble. This city is home to one of our Periurban Park members.

Green Capital Award

The European Green Capital and Green Leaf award winners were announced in a ceremony on the 8th of October in Lisbon, the current Green Capital. Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius awarded Grenoble as the Green Capital of 2022. The Green Leaf award, for cities with less than 100.000 inhabitants went to Gabrovo in Bulgaria and Lappeenranta in Finland.

The winners and finalists of the green city awards have proven to be resilient and shown that, even in the most difficult circumstances like this year’s, rapid changes are possible (Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius).

An expert jury looked at four different cities and twelve indicators. Grenoble was awarded the Green Capital title because it scored exceptionally high in climate mitigation and adaptation. The city was granted 350.000 euros to start a ‘green year’ full of sustainable initiatives and events. Éric Piolle, the Mayor of Grenoble stated that:

We all need to adapt our way of life and I am sure that being a European Green Capital will help us to go further.

Grenoble Alpes Metropole

Grenoble is a city surounded by nature, and home to one of our members, the periurban park Grenoble Alpes Métropole. Six open recreational areas, together forming 593 ha (195 ha are under the control of “Grenoble Alpes Métropole”) surround the city and are connected to this initiative, allowing 404.000 “city dwellers” to get in touch with nature. These areas are now preserved and reserved for recreational and educational activities such as outdoor sports and are important for the natural, historical and cultural heritage of the area. Without a doubt, these parks played a key role in the green cities’ success.

We congratulate the City of Grenoble and hope to see more of both the city and the surrounding natural areas in the following years!