Mayor Minna Arve to receive recognition award for leading climate cities in Paris
Turku was once again recognized last year as one of the world’s leading climate cities for the fifth time by the global environmental impact assessment organization, CDP. The awarded cities will receive their recognition on March 26th at the CDP Gala held in Paris. Mayor Minna Arve will accept Turku’s award and will also participate in a high-level panel discussion on climate action financing during the gala.
In 2014, Turku was one of the world’s first cities to begin reporting its climate actions to CDP’s global environmental data system. This system serves as the most significant and extensive reporting tool for monitoring the climate actions of companies, financial institutions, cities, and states. The assessment by CDP also holds significant weight in making funding decisions for cities and companies since the capital market assets of participating financial institutions total over $136 trillion. Transparent and comprehensive reporting ensures that climate actions are genuinely impactful and comparable.
– It’s fantastic that climate work has become mainstream in recent years. Unfortunately, the branding of climate work has also been misused. That’s why it’s important for us to have science-based and unbiased systems where the progress of cities and companies in climate work can be monitored,” emphasized Mayor Minna Arve.
The CDP Gala brings together top names in climate work from cities, financial institutions, and companies. Mayor Arve has been invited as a panelist for a discussion on climate action financing, along with Emmanuelle Assouan, the Director General of Financial Stability and Operations at the Banque de France, Vincent Warnery, CEO of a German cosmetics industry giant Beiersdorf, and Gilles Andrier, CEO of Givaudan, a Swiss company producing aromatic products for the food and beverage industry.
– In the financial world, green is the new black. While pilot financing has its place in climate financing, it’s even more important to seek ways to develop long-term sustainable financing. For this, we need common rules that also guide the actions of financiers. The European Union’s sustainable finance classification system, the taxonomy, for example, has been a good step forward, stated Arve.
Collaboration with local businesses and communities has always been a central part of Turku’s climate work. A significant milestone was reached last week when the European Commission approved Turku’s Climate City Contract. The feedback from the Commission emphasized that Turku had exceeded the EU mission’s goals for over 100 carbon-neutral cities in many respects. Turku’s taxonomy-based climate budgeting and close collaboration with local businesses and research organizations received particular praise.
Green finance is prominently on the European agenda as well. Last week, the European Commission announced, for example, that it will later this year open a financing center aimed at mission cities. The financing center will concretely support investment projects of selected mission cities and provide support in finding the most suitable financing solutions. The support for sustainable investment projects in Turku comes at a particularly opportune time, as compared to the relatively modest investment level of the last 10 years, the city will make significant investments in the coming years, including in daycare and school networks, as well as strategic urban development projects.
– Turku is currently growing at an unprecedented pace, and investments are being made to build a sustainable Turku for decades to come. It’s great that money is increasingly guiding us towards making more sustainable choices because new investments always enable the experimentation of new solutions. A concrete example of this is the innovative solutions of the circular economy, which are being piloted extensively in connection with the development of Turku Science Park,” Mayor Arve added.
During the CDP Gala, Mayor Arve will also have the opportunity to present Turku’s climate work to a broader European audience in an interview with Euronews channel. The interview will be available on Euronews’ website starting from April 4, 2024.
Additionally, Mayor Arve and Turku’s Climate Director Risto Veivo will participate in the Change Now Summit during the trip. It is a unique event that brings together companies, investors, and public sector actors to discuss combating climate change and building a sustainable future. Turku is participating in the summit and its associated urban program for the second time.