Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, with approximately 825,000 inhabitants in its municipality and over 1.3 million inhabitants in its greater urban area. Stockholm is widely recognized for its natural and historic beauty (which led to its nickname “The Venice of the North”) as well as for its political, economic and cultural importance for all of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. In 2009 the European Commission selected Stockholm to act in 2010 as the first ever European Green Capital because of the city's unique commitment to environmental issues and the protection of its natural resources. In 2005 Stockholm had reduced its per capita greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent (in comparison to emission levels in 1990) and the city council set the target of becoming free of fossil fuel use by 2050. As a result, Stockholm is considered to be a stellar example for best practices in environmentally sustainable planning and pursuing green urban development.

Stockholm was founded in the 13th century, and from its beginnings, it occupied a strategically and economically important position due to its access to the Baltic Sea and lake Mälaren. Mälaren, a fresh water lake, is a unique natural resource for the city's urban ecology, while the brackish Baltic Sea is predominantly of aesthetic and economic value for the city's inhabitants. The most striking feature of Stockholm is that it is an extremely green city; of Stockholm's total area of 215 square kilometers, 56 square kilometers are parks and green spaces, while 28 square kilometers are water areas, meaning that almost 40 percent of the city's entire area consists of biologically productive land. This is a considerably higher percentage of green spaces and water than commonly found in cities of this size.

To date, 90 percent of Stockholm's population lives less than 300 meters from a green area, and the city boasts excellent swimming and fishing opportunities. However, Stockholm's green ambitions are not restricted to recreational and cultural aspects. In 2006 Stockholm city council introduced a congestion charge for cars entering or leaving the city center. Within the first year of the congestion charge, auto emission levels reduced by 10 percent, and air quality improved by approximately 5 percent. Moreover, Stockholm offers its citizens a highly efficient, reliable, and affordable public transport system, as well as over 700 kilometers of cycling lanes.

In addition, more than 65 percent of city households have access to district heating, which uses up to 70 percent of renewable energy. The city also has an ambitious biogas program, which focuses on using food waste and waste water for biogas production. Overall, Stockholm aims to be fossil fuel free in 2050. The city council laid out its ambitions for Stockholm in a document called Vision 2030, which states that Stockholm will foster innovation and growth.

According to the European Green City Index, presented during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009, Stockholm is the second greenest [Page 401]European major city, a close second to Copenhagen. The study, which was carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit of Siemens, evaluates cities in eight categories: CO2 emissions; energy; buildings; transportation; water; air quality; waste and land use; and environmental governance.

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