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Climate Star 2009: The Short Track to Climate Protection

In Melk in Lower Austria 15 European cities, municipalities and local authorities associations were awarded with a Climate Star 2009 for their commitment in climate protection. 444 cities and municipalities from 11 countries applied at Climate Alliance for the European award and recorded their local climate protection activities.

Climate Star Awardees 2009

- Local authorities with more than 100,000 inhabitants:
Freiburg im Breisgau (D), Ghent (B), Osnabrück (D) and The Hague (NL)

- Local authorities with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants:
Lustenau (A), St. Pölten (A) and Ulricehamn (S)

- Local authorities with up to 10,000 inhabitants:
Dorf an der Pram (A), Gleisdorf (A), Poysdorf (A) and Sand in Taufers (I)

- Associations of local authorities, as districts or boroughs:
Association of Local Authorities in Skaraborg (S), the Barcelona Provincial Council (ES) and Kirklees Council (UK)

- Special award:
Vienna (A)

Here, please find further information about the awarded projects.

Climate Star award ceremony 2009, Photographer Paul Plutsch

Under the motto "The Short Track to Climate Protection" for the forth time Climate Alliance invited all European local authorities to apply with exemplary climate protection actions and measures for a Climate Star. Accordingly, the projects submitted address a broad range of topics, such as using less energy, producing energy locally from renewable sources, sustainable means of transport or marketing of regional products.

This year record-breaking 444 cities and municipalities from 11 countries submitted 118 local actions, campaigns and measures for a Climate Star. The projects and the evaluation of the entire local climate protection measures from 15 cities, municipalities and associations of local authorities are that convincing and exemplary that they were decorated with a Climate Star. The solemn award ceremony was held on invitation of the Federal State of Lower Austria in the Melk Abbey, part of the UNESCO world heritage Wachau, on 22 October 2009.

The awardees have been selected by an independent expert jury. The jury assessed the submitted projects according to the predetermined criterions innovation, cost-benefit-ratio, long-term contribution to CO2 reduction and transferability. Members of the jury have been

- Dr. Angelika Poth-Mögele, Director of Policy of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) in Brussels

- Marité Moras, Secretary of the Committee on Sustainable Development of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg

- Dr. Ing. Stephan Wilforth, Scientific Officer of the chair of system theory and system technology at the Faculty of Spatial Planning at the TU Dortmund University

Contact:
Angela Hanisch
Tel. +49-69-717139-12
a.hanisch(at)climatealliance.org