What helped the Portuguese city of Guimaraes to become the "European Green Capital" for 2026?

The Portuguese city of Guimaraes has been declared the "European Green Capital" for 2026. from the European Commission in The European Green Cities Awards 2026. The city stands out for its ongoing commitment to sustainable development, with remarkable results for air quality, noise, water, biodiversity, green spaces, circular patterns, waste and adaptation to climate change mitigation, writes euronews.com.

According to the jury, Guimarães demonstrates a vision that unites citizens, the academic community and the private sector. The municipality's motto "One Planet City" was approved and praised for its approach that combines science with local planning.

Guimarães, which is home to around 156 people, managed to beat the cities of Heilbronn in Germany and Klagenfurt in Austria in the ranking and will receive a prize of €000. The funds will be used to increase environmental sustainability.

Ambitious goals

Guimarães is one of three in Portugal that are part of the Missionary Cities initiative of the European Commission. These 100 cities are aiming to become climate neutral by 2030. – 20 years before the country's national goal.

The municipality said it will continue city revitalization projects and promote new initiatives with a view to climate neutrality by 2030, as well as initiatives to improve land conditions, waste management and biodiversity protection.

The mayor of Guimarães, Domingos Braganza, thanked the entire community of the city, saying that they were an essential part of this victory.

The "European Green Capital" award

The European Green Capital Award was launched in 2010. by the European Commission to encourage cities to become greener and cleaner while improving the quality of life of their citizens. The "Green Leaf" award aims to recognize the efforts of smaller cities with between 20 and 100 thousand inhabitants.

In 2021 the Estonian city of Tallinn received the award for 2023, having had two years to prepare for its time in the sustainability spotlight. Tallinn's approach focused on bringing nature into the urban environment. A Green Paths project was launched to introduce greenery into urban spaces throughout Tallinn, from bus stop roofs to intersection islands.

In the summer of 2023 the town square was completely transformed into a temporary park with wooden seats, flowers and even a free library. The creation of a 14-kilometer "Pollinator Highway" through six of the city's eight districts was also among the measures taken by the city administration. Tallinn even ditched plastic altogether at Estonia's annual youth song and dance festival.