The latest UN report has warned of a "red alert" for the effects of climate change, which could be "catastrophic for civilization" if urgent action is not taken. Some countries and cities continue to ignore these warnings from scientists, while others actively contribute to overcoming the crisis.
The new Global Destination Sustainability Index has identified cities around the world that are already moving towards a sustainable, low-carbon future. The assessment took into account such indicators as the level of waste recycling, air pollution, the availability of bicycle paths, the environmental friendliness of public transport and the percentage of environmentally friendly hotel rooms.
The first place in the rating was taken by Gothenburg, Sweden, which has been recognized as the most environmentally friendly city in the world for several years. The city actively promotes the use of electric transport and provides almost all public transport with renewable energy. In addition, great attention is paid to the fight against the use of disposable tableware and plastic.
It should be noted that the Scandinavian countries dominated the ranking, demonstrating active progress in the field of sustainable development. For example, Oslo, Norway, rose from 10th to second place thanks to improved strategy and implementation. Copenhagen, Denmark, and Helsinki, Finland also showed consistently high indicators.
The TOP 10 also included the cities of Bergen and Aarhus from Norway and Denmark, respectively, as well as Aalborg, Denmark, Glasgow, Great Britain, Bordeaux, France, and Stockholm, Sweden.
In general, the top 40 also included cities from Western Europe, North America (Montreal, Canada) and the Asia-Pacific region (Singapore, Hoi An, Songkhla, Bangkok, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane).
These data allow us to understand that countries and cities around the world are actively working to reduce the impact on the climate and move in the direction of sustainable development.
