Rome and Brescia are among the cities in the running for the European Green Capital Award 2028

Brussels – The European Commission announced today, 23 April, the names of the cities that will compete in the 2028 edition of the European Green Capital award, presented annually to the city that has distinguished itself most in its efforts to become “greener, cleaner, and more sustainable.” Among the seventeen cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants vying for the title are two Italian cities: Rome and Brescia. After fourteen unsuccessful attempts, therefore, Italy now has the opportunity to make its debut on this roll of honour. 

Rome and Brescia will compete against 15 other cities from across Europe. The EU country with the most entries is Spain, with no fewer than five candidates: two major cities in Catalonia (Matarò and Terrassa), Zaragoza (the capital of Aragon), Lugo (Galicia) and Murcia (the main city of the autonomous community of the same name). Neighbouring Portugal will also have its own cards to play, fielding Porto (the country’s second city) and Setúbal. Rounding off the list of candidates are Bielsko-Biała and Gdańsk (Poland), Aalborg (Denmark), Košice (Slovakia), Miskolc (Hungary), and Nîmes (France). Finally, cities from two countries that are not yet members of the Union but have begun the accession process have also been allowed to enter: Montenegro will participate with its capital, Podgorica, whilst Ukraine is backing Ternopil. 

The seventeen selected cities will now be assessed by a panel of independent experts, which in July will decide which candidates to admit to the second stage of the award, based on evaluation criteria such as air pollution levels, waste management, biodiversity, and climate mitigation and adaptation measures. At that point, an international jury chaired by the Commission will select the award winner from among the remaining cities, based on a report that each candidate must prepare to explain the measures they intend to implement should they win. The winner will be announced on 8 October at a ceremony in Guimarães, the Portuguese city and current title holder. 

As the Berlaymont Building explained, “in addition to the formal title of Green Capital of the Year, there is a prize of €600,000” to be used to implement even more effective environmental and climate policies and to organise awareness-raising events involving the public. 

The Commission has also announced the candidate cities for the 2028 edition of the Green Leaf Awards, a similar award but reserved for towns with a population of between 20,000 and 100,000. Spain and Portugal are once again the main favourites, with six (Ávila, Benidorm, Chiclana de la Frontera, Errenteria, Esplugues de Llobregat, Mafra and Sant Joan Despí) and three candidates (Esposende, Estarreja and Mafra) respectively. The last of the ten names on the list is the Bulgarian city of Vratsa. In this case, there may be two winners, and the prize for each is €200,000.