A holistic approach needed to make cities truly sustainable

​ During the Committee of the Regions (CoR) June plenary session, Europe's local and regional authorities discussed the environmental challenges European cities and towns face in delivering urban sustainable development. The CoR calls for a holistic and comprehensive approach to be taken otherwise it will be impossible to guarantee sustainability in European cities and towns.

Daiva Matonienė (LT/ECR) as rapporteur on the subject of sustainable cities stated that, "we all share the same land, water and air, so our well-being in the future depends on our responsibility regarding the environment. With an estimated 80% of Europeans living in urban areas by 2020, the quality of life in and overall environmental conditions of these urban territories become a priority for local and regional authorities. This is particularly the case when the costs of not implementing EU environmental legislation are at around EUR 50 billion a year in health costs and direct costs to the environment. "

In response to a petition launched by the European Commission, and in an effort to promote an efficient use of resources and a low-carbon economy, the CoR presented a draft opinion called "The Seventh Environment Action Programme and the Sustainable City". Its main goals are to meet environmental and climate change targets, establish a policy legal framework, set out a long-term vision until 2050 for the EU and its Members States, and to raise awareness about the need of integrate the environmental aspect in other areas and policies.

As most of the cities share the same challenges - such as improving air quality and reducing noise pollution and traffic congestion - the draft opinion led by Daiva Matonienė (LT/ECR), suggests implementing a common and coordinated bottom-up strategy in line with the principle of multi level governance. The opinion argues that a holistic and sustainable approach will be a pre-requisite for future urban development. It calls for cooperation on sustainable urban development among cities and towns to achieve coherent and cost efficient sustainable policies by exchanging best practices and adopting a holistic approach coordinated at EU level.

The opinion calls for common goals for sustainable towns and cities to be set at the EU level by 2050. Referring to the 'Reference Framework for European Sustainable Cities' and the 'Leipzig Charter', the opinion identifies these as building blocks for future goals. It also underlines that as a first step, European cities and towns need to assess their current situation to identify which areas should be priority for action. It notes that the 'Reference Framework for European Sustainable Cities' would be a good tool for this self-assessment to help identify strengths and weaknesses.

Finally, the draft opinion highlights the need for greater focus on small and medium size cities, noting that approximately 56% of EU towns and cities have a population of between 5 000 and 100 000. In this regard, the CoR suggests expanding the eligibility threshold to cities of more than 50 000 people in order to open up new opportunities to Europe's smaller towns and cities and it asks for a financial incentive to get more applicants. It calls for the development of the European Green Capital Award as a successful example to encourage cities in terms of sustainability.