Tallinn, Helsingborg (Sweden), Krakow (Poland), Sofia (Bulgaria) are the four finalists for the title of European Green Capital 2023. The winners will be revealed at the official Awards Ceremony taking place on 9th of September in Lahti, Finland.

According to the Mayor of Tallinn, Mihhail Kõlvart, Tallinn has set a goal to make a green transformation in every field and many steps from the program for European Green Capital of 2022 are already put into practice. “As being in the finals for second year in a row, it gives a great feedback and acknowledgment to our goals and plans for the city," said Kõlvart. “Every citizen will benefit from the developments accompanied with Tallinn running for the green capital award as our goal is to create a green city with a better environment and urban space.”

The four strands of the green transformation in Tallinn are improving the energy efficiency and indoor climate of buildings, reducing carbon emissions including by incentivizing people to choose means of mobility other than cars, preserving and increasing biological diversity in the city, and creating a circular economy that spans a reduction in the generation of waste, a more sustainable and efficient use of natural resources, recycling and reuse.

Altogether, 16 cities applied in the 2023 award cycle. Tallinn’s competitors were Sofia (Bulgaria), Logroño (Spain), Zagreb (Croatia), Dublin (Ireland), Cagliari (Islands of Sardinia, Italy), Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk and Rzeszów (Poland), Skopje (Macedonia), Helsingborg (Sweden), Belgrade (Serbia), Košice (Slovakia), Gaziantep and Izmir (Turkey).

The European Green Capital is elected by the European Commission, recognizing the efforts of cities with this honor to preserve and improve an environment that supports both the living environment and the economy. Each year the green capital city award is given to a winner, who has the capacity to act as a role model to other cities in the field of sustainable urban development and their strategy for communicating and engaging with their citizens. The initiative of the competition aims to improve the urban environment in European cities, to promote and recognize the efforts that cities are making to improve the environment and the quality of life.

The selection of a city awarded with the title of European Green Capital is assessed on the basis of twelve environmental indicators: air quality, noise, waste, water, nature and biodiversity, sustainable land use and soil, green growth and eco-innovation, climate change in mitigation, climate change in adaptation, sustainable urban mobility, energy performance and governance

Tallinn has been running for the title of European Green Capital of 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 and has been in the finals for two years now.
Last year, Tallinn was in the final round with the city of Grenoble, Dijon and Torino – the title of European Green Capital of 2022 was awarded to Grenoble, France.