Economical cooling system and comprehensive urban planning win Nordic Climate awards

The city of Tampere in Finland won the backing of an international jury in February for its ECO₂ project, which represents a comprehensive urban planning concept that is easy to understand. The key to the implementation of the project is the involvement of the city's mayor and politicians and the development of a mechanism for city-wide coordination.

The business and education sectors in Tampere were also involved in the creation of the solution. In addition to the city itself, funding for the launch of the project was provided by the Finnish Innovation Fund (SITRA).

A conference held in Turku in Finland from 31 January to 2 February focussed on searching for ways of dealing with climate change. Its packed and very diverse programme included themed workshops involving participants from 18 countries and an awards ceremony to recognise those who had come up with the best climate solutions. One of the members of the jury was a representative of the Association of Estonian Cities.