Braşov is running for the title of “Green Capital of Europe 2025”

“We are running for the title of Green Capital of Europe 2025. In 2020, the people of Brasov chose Brasov to become the Green Capital of Romania. The last 2 and a half years have brought many initiatives and projects in the direction of sustainability, increasing the quality of life and positioning the city as a pioneer and trailblazer in the implementation of green policies. The surprise we had, participating in events organized at the European level, was that the things we do in Brasov are, in fact, models of good practices”, says Allen Coliban.

The mayor says that, for example, in Braşov there are 27 educational institutions that are involved in a European-funded project to produce green energy. In addition, Braşov is developing its own photovoltaic park, which means that in the coming years it will become totally energy independent in terms of public consumption.

“Such things already position us in the vanguard of sustainable cities that implement green policies. It was normal that all these ambitions put us on a map of the cities competing for the title of European Green Capital. Our candidacy came, therefore, at an absolutely normal moment. This title is not granted merely by considering the present. It is a continuum that starts from the past, the problems of the past, the way in which the strategies and measures are aligned to respond to these problems and at the same time the coherence of a development strategy for the coming years”, states Coliban.

The mayor mentions that although Braşov has faced and still faces environmental problems, the fact that there are concrete plans, strategies and measures to remedy them are strengths of this candidacy.

“Also, in all this endeavor, it is very important that our pride, the people of Brasov, is aligned with this ambition to apply and become the European Green Capital. Beyond the title, which would honor us, it is very important to start this effort that is implemented together with the people of Brasov. To represent an approach from which we can win at the level of quality of life year after year. There have been previous attempts made by cities in Romania, singular, punctual, in various years, to apply for this title. But they were not continued, they did not represent a sustained effort over several years. For us, it was work over several weeks, sustained work, because all the evaluation criteria, the technical criteria, cover a very wide spectrum. I had to respond to issues regarding air quality, waste management, water quality, resilience and adaptation to climate change, very important chapters for everything that represents sustainability. I gave the answer to these chapters in a large team, which combined experts from public administration with volunteers. I’m glad that in each chapter we have things to be proud of”, writes the mayor of Braşov, Allen Coliban, on Facebook.