Mayor Arve was invited as a keynote speaker to this year’s CDP Awards event. The other keynote speakers include names such as Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and the Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis. The event theme is rebuilding the economy on a sustainable basis.

The CDP Europe Awards 2021 event brings together the highest-level political decision-makers and representatives of companies and investors, challenging them to build a green recovery for Europe after the pandemic. Meeting the demanding climate goals of Europe and building a climate-proof future requires determined actions and decisions.

The CDP’s annual report about the state of European environmental progress will also be presented at the event.

The event on 2 March 5 pm–7 pm (Finnish time) will be held with special arrangements. The CDP Europe Awards forum will be produced by Euronews, the most popular European news channel that will also broadcast the event. The event will be hosted by the European Investment Bank. The event is free of charge, and anyone interested in it can register to participate.

The Mayor of Turku received an invitation to the event thanks to the strong commitment in the prevention of climate change and in active international cooperation demonstrated by the city.

“Turku’s work in climate matters has been determined and persistent. A broad consensus about the city’s climate policy is our strength. It is wonderful that this has also been widely noted elsewhere. We are often invited to speak about the role of cities in preventing climate change. Of course, this takes a lot of work and also requires personal commitment,” says Mayor Arve.

Minna Arve’s address will be implemented as a recorded interview, which was held as a video call on 12 February. The interview is titled Rethinking European cities: what does a 2030 city look like. The interviewer is Euronews host Chris Burns.

CDP is a global collector of climate data that sees cities as significant climate operators

CDP is a global non-profit organisation whose mission is to encourage businesses, cities and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, secure water resources and protect forests.

Cities cover less than 2% of the world’s surface area, but approximately 70% of global emissions are generated within them. According to CDP reports, 85% of cities worldwide already estimate that climate poses threats to themselves, and 75% of long-term threats are rated as serious or very serious. Cities play a key role in the fight against climate change, and at the same time the changes pose threats to them.

Turku’s climate work garners international respect

Last year, Turku was included in CDP’s A list, which catalogues the world’s leading climate cities. Turku is also on the list published this year, together with 87 other cities. Now, the list features four Finnish cities. Turku and Lahti have been on the list before, and now also Helsinki and Espoo were included.

In 2020, Turku was chosen as the best mid-sized climate city in Europe.The assessment of Europe’s best climate cities was performed by the European Commission’s DG Joint Research Centre. The choices were based on the data the cities entered into the Covenant of Mayors system. The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy has been signed by more than 10,000 cities or regions.

Turku is also an active member of the global Local Governments for Sustainability network. Mayor of Turku Minna Arve is a member of the network’s global management board and she will be the European board’s vice president during the term 2021–2024.

Event information on CDP’s website: https://www.cdp.net/en/events/cdp-europe-awards