Leading the fight against climate change
The award ratifies Valladolid's status as a benchmark city in the fight against climate change, as the city has adopted various policies in this area with a comprehensive perspective. This includes the firm commitment to sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, the circular economy and the renaturalisation of urban space. The award was given by The Climate Reality Project, the organisation founded and chaired by the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Al Gore (Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton), which recognises companies, organisations and individuals committed to sustainability and to the fight against global warming. The Mayor of Valladolid, Óscar Puente, collected the award in a ceremony on March 24 in Madrid. He expressed gratitude, on behalf of the City Council of Valladolid and the city, for this award: "I am sincerely grateful for the award, because for a city council is not easy to take decisions that bring about a real cultural change, such as in mobility. Often you encounter resistance and some misunderstanding from citizens. Receiving this award from an independent entity helps our work to be recognised, and citizens to understand what is being done. And it also helps other administrations to be brave because the planet cannot wait. Public administrations have to implement measures to step up the fight against climate change. We are very grateful for the award, it strengthens us, it encourages us to continue in this direction and I hope that many others will join us as well." See the recordings of the award ceremony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViPGiTQnwVU The activities performed by URBAN GreenUP are part of the work that allowed Valladolid to get the prize. Valladolid City Council member, Alicia Villazán Cabero, commented: "It is a great honour for the City of Valladolid to receive this award from this prestigious international and independent body The Climate Reality Project. It also recognises our endeavours in the international URBAN GreenUP project towards the objective of renaturing the city, and also in other local government policies such as the sustainable mobility, for pedestrians, public and electric mobility and energy efficiency." Read more (in Spanish): La ciudad de Valladolid premiada por The Climate Reality Proyect, la organización presidida por Al Gore, por su lucha contra el cambio climático | Portal Web del Ayuntamiento de Valladolid FURTHER INFORMATION URBAN GreenUP is a project funded under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 730426. It aims at developing Renaturing Urban Plans, which include actions focused on mitigating the effects and risks of climate change and improving the air quality and water management of cities through NBS. URBAN GreenUP is run by an international consortium of 25 partners from 9 countries, coordinated by the CARTIF Technology Centre. Activities will take place in the three demonstrator cities of Valladolid (Spain), Liverpool (UK) and Izmir (Turkey) and will be replicated across Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
Keywords
climate change, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, circular economy, renaturalisation, global warming