The Green City Accord is a movement of European mayors committed to making cities cleaner and healthier. It aims to improve the quality of life for all Europeans and accelerate the implementation of relevant EU environmental laws. By signing the Accord, cities commit to addressing five areas of environmental management: air, water, nature and biodiversity, circular economy and waste, and noise.
By signing the Green City Accord, cities will become part of a growing movement to safeguard the natural environment and improve the quality of life of Europeans. Cities will also be supporting the European Green Deal and the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In particular, cities will:
- gain Europe-wide visibility in recognition of their environmental actions and achievements
- contribute to shaping EU environmental policy
- become part of a community of like-minded cities driving the transition towards a clean and healthy Europe
- increase their transparency, accountability, and credibility within the local community
- gain access to information concerning EU funding opportunities
- participate in networking events and benefit from capacity-building opportunities
- receive tailored guidance and support via a dedicated helpdesk
Who is eligible to join?
The Green City Accord is open to any cities of 20,000 inhabitants and above located in the European Union.
The term “city” means an urban area with an administrative unit governed by a city council or another form of a democratically elected body. This includes large metropolitan areas, as well as agglomerations.
Cities in European Economic Area countries and in Switzerland will be able to join in the second phase. Other cities in the wider European region may be eligible to join at a later stage.
Sign the commitment
The Green City Accord can be signed at any time. Please note that only the Mayor (or equivalent representative) can sign.
If your city is interested in signing the Accord, please notify the Green City Accord secretariat by sending an email to contact@greencityaccord.eu Once the secretariat confirms eligibility, there are two steps to become a signatory:
- The Accord is presented to the municipal council (or equivalent decision-making body).
- Once an official resolution has been adopted by the council, the Mayor – or equivalent representative – signs the Green City Accord political commitment document electronically. To sign, please download the Green City Accord political commitment text here and click on ‘sign now’.
The signatures of the political commitment are collected using an EUSurvey form (it is not used as a survey in this case). To upload the signed political commitment document in the system, you must set up and EU login. More information about how to create a EU login is available here.
Please note that when you enter the signed political commitment in the system, you will also have to upload a copy of the Municipal Council decision in the national language, unless an English translation is available.
More info here: