WWF City Challenge: named Lund the Swedish and World Climate City of the Year

Not only does Lund take the title as the Swedish winner of the WWF One Planet City Challenge, he also won the world title, along with the Colombian capital, Bogota. This is the first time that Lund has won and the international jury commends the Student City for its strong and robust work that takes a holistic approach to climate change.

Lund was named the 2022 Climate City in Sweden and beat the finalists over Helsingborg and Stockholm. Lund also won the World City Challenge, along with Bogotá in Colombia. Photo: Lund municipality

We need cities that lead, now more than ever. The supremacy of a Swedish municipality in our international city challenge makes us proud. But we are far from finished. The emissions curve must slope sharply downward and all social actors must act. Gustav Lind, Secretary-General of the World Wide Fund for Nature, says Lund can inspire others and point out opportunities and hurdles to speed up the transition.

An international jury of experts has named Lund and the multi-million dollar city of Bogotá as global winners of the WWF City Challenge in competition with 280 cities from the 1950s. Countries. Lund has had the strongest contribution to the competition among all the candidates and, according to the jury, is characterized by ambitious and clear climate goals, political leadership and a broad and transparent program of work.

It is an honor and a satisfaction that Lund’s active work on climate change has been noted by an influential organization such as the World Wide Fund for Nature. We do not inherit the earth from our fathers, but we borrow it from our children. Cities have a great opportunity to make an impact at a global level, and this award shows that Lund is on the right track, says Philip Sandberg (left), the mayor of Lund.

This is the second time that a relatively small Swedish city has won globally in competition with multimillion-dollar mega-cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Jakarta and Mexico City. The last time was in 2018 when Uppsala became a global winner.

Lund won the 2022 Climate City title in Sweden in a fierce competition with Swedish finalists Helsingborg and Stockholm. All three have done well in the international assessment.

Swedish cities are doing well. They have clear climate targets and broad follow-up action programmes. Many of them are currently tightening their climate goals and introducing targets for net zero emissions. But they are not perfect or ready for the job. We need to dramatically increase the pace and also address our consumption patterns, which generate emissions in other countries, says Sabina Andrin, program coordinator at the WWF.

This is the first time that global winners have been nominated. The winners are chosen so that the nomination represents cities that deal with different types of challenges from a global perspective.

Bogotá has been rewarded for its extensive work and outreach, as the city, despite significant challenges, is implementing an ambitious climate program and also pushing nationally. It’s exciting with winners like Lund and Bogota. Sabina Andrén concludes that they face very different challenges, but that they both mobilize change locally along with other actors and citizens.

The facts This is how Lund works with climate

Lund’s climate goals are based on clear, step-by-step targets with milestones every five years to achieve rapid emissions reductions in the near future. In 2030, Lund will be a climate-neutral municipality free of fossil fuels, and in 2045, emissions will be close to zero. Lund will also develop ways to generate negative emissions within its borders, such as storing carbon in forests, lands and wetlands. Lund has already halved its emissions by 2020 compared to 1990.

An independent Science Climate Policy Board that includes representatives from universities reviews the change and makes recommendations. This provides transparency and quality. Lund is also a leader in an international project to digitally visualize and advance climate action with the help of the Futureproofed tool to achieve climate goals together with citizens and partners.

Some examples of what Lund does:

• Lund invests in making sustainable travel habits the easy choice, among other things through corporate green travel plans, super bike trails, and exciting activities during school holidays that reduce the need to travel elsewhere.

• Its municipal organization’s operations were 99% free of fossil fuels in 2020, which Lund wants to expand to the entire geographic region by 2030.

• Lund’s public housing companies, in dialogue with Linero’s tenants, have worked successfully with renovation and energy efficiency with low impact on rents.

• In Brunnshög, the municipality is developing the world’s largest low-temperature central heating network to be able to take advantage of residual heat from research facilities.

• The Rest to Best project develops methods for carbon sinks in urban planning, such as Biochar in parks, sports fields and farmland.

Global Urban Challenge Facts

What are the participating cities and where do they come from?

This tour includes 280 cities from 50 countries such as: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Philippines, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Peru, UK, Sweden, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, USA and Vietnam.

Examples of finalists for this year’s round

Buenos Aires, Vancouver, Medellin, Bogota, Helsingor, Quito, Turku, Paris, Escuintla, Rajkot, Jakarta, Tokyo, Petaling Jaya, Mexico City, Guadalajara, Wellington, Oslo, Lima, Cape Town, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Zurich, Yasuton, Istanbul , Bristol, Boulder, Santa Monica.

What cities have won in the past?

Winner of the Best Climate City of the Year in Sweden: Malmö (2011), Uppsala (2013), Stockholm (2014), Gothenburg (2015), Umeå (2016) and Uppsala (2018, 2020).

Previous global winners have been: Vancouver (2013), Cape Town (2014), Seoul (2015), Paris (2016), Uppsala (2018), and Mexico City (2020).

Background facts: WWF City Challenge

WWFs One Planet City Challenge He wants to challenge the cities of the world to wear the leader’s shirt for a climate-secure future. As stated in the latest report from the United Nations Climate Panel, action in the world’s cities is critical. The world must reach zero emissions by 2050, and here rich countries like Sweden need to hit the target much earlier for Sweden to do its fair share of the Paris Agreement, says the WWF.

The WWF City Challenge is a way for cities to get feedback, share experiences and encourage each other. The challenge has been around since 2011 and is the largest and tallest of its kind in the world. So far, more than 700 cities from five continents have participated.

In this year’s tour, 280 cities from about 50 countries participated, including 20 Swedish municipalities. An international jury of experts selected approximately 30 national winners and international finalists. After that, global winners were announced. The winners will be celebrated at an award ceremony in connection with the international conference Urban Future 2022 on 2 June in Helsingborg.

To participate in the challenge, cities reported on their climate action on one unified data platform Allowing international comparison. Evaluation It covers a number of aspects including climate goals, action plan and climate adaptation. The Science-Based Climate Targets Assessment Method for Cities has been approved by the Science Target Network (SBTN).

Fact cities
• Today, more than 55 percent of the world’s population lives in cities and they account for about 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• It is estimated that around two thirds of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050.

• Cities have a major role to play in managing climate and biodiversity, and there is great potential for solutions.

for more information:

Sweden: wwf.se/citychallenge

International site: panda.org/citychallenge

If you want to know more, contact:

Sabina Andren, Sustainable Cities Program Coordinator, WWF, 070-34 05137 [email protected]
Nina Schmieder, WWF Press Secretary, 0735-86 26 22 [email protected]