Local efforts to address climate change in U.S. and European cities brought together a select group of sustainability leaders this summer in Europe, including City of Richmond Sustainability Manager, Alicia Zatcoff.
Alicia joined a small group of U.S. sustainability leaders for a European Union-funded study tour to promote transatlantic relationships in urban planning aimed at promoting a lower carbon future on both sides of the Atlantic. The delegation began in Brussels, Belgium and made stops at the Port of Antwerp; the city of Nijmegen, Netherlands; and Oslo, Norway timed with the 2019 European Green Capitals award ceremony. The study tour also visited the European Commission - the executive body of the European Union - where they discussed policy with EU officials on climate impact and energy efficiency across the continent.
“The most innovative urban plans and impactful regional efforts can really make a difference if they are replicated around the world,” said Fabrice Vareille, head of global innovation at the European Union Delegation to the United States. “The EU invests in our cities and awards Green Capitals because we know this support makes a difference in our collective drive for climate action, and we appreciate the commitment from so many U.S. cities toward our shared goals of moving to a low-carbon economy.”
This study tour follows a 2018 effort the EU organized to bring diplomats from several European countries to see energy programs and climate action policies in place at the local level in the U.S. Nicole Wanders-Wengler of the EU Commission's Directorate General for Environment said of the tour, “I hope this is not the end but rather the beginning to making our cities greener, better places.”
U.S. participants included mid-career professionals and elected officials. These experts were selected for their expertise and experience in the areas of sustainability, and environmental studies, and urban planning. The delegation was comprised of representations from the following governments:
- City of Aspen (Colorado)
- City of Cincinnati (Ohio)
- City of Fort Collins (Colorado)
- City of Fremont (California)
- City of Phoenix (Arizona)
- City of Portland (Oregon)
- City of Providence (Rhode Island)
- City of Richmond (Virginia)
- Metro Nashville (Tennessee) Government
- Metropolitan Washington (DC) Council of Governments
- State of Minnesota
- State of Tennessee
