Nordic Green to Scale

What is it about?

Nordic Green to Scale is an international project that analyses the emission-reducing potential of existing low-carbon solutions in cities. Around 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to cities and the everyday life of their residents. At the same time, cities are well positioned to create significant emission reductions through, for instance, procurement, land planning and implementing climate-friendly solutions in sectors such as energy, mobility and transportation, buildings and waste.

The Nordic Green to Scale for Cities and Communities report is part of the wider international project Green to Scale. The report highlights how 14 existing green solutions from 5 Nordic countries could be scaled-up to tackle greenhouse gas emissions both nationally and globally. The project report presents an assessment of costs and savings, as well as co-benefits, enablers and barriers, and policy recommendations for developing these green solutions.

Partners

The project was launched in 2015 by the Finnish Innovation Fund (Sitra) in cooperation with the Nordic Council of Ministers and partners across all 5 Nordic countries. The distinguished partner institutions include:

• Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO), Norway, who conducted the technical analysis for the report
• CONCITO, Denmark
• Sitra, Finland
• Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden
• University of Iceland Institute for Sustainability Studies, Iceland.

Results and Findings

A report, Nordic Green to Scale for Cities and Communities, was launched at events in Reykjavik, Iceland on November 18, and Stockholm, Sweden November 27. The report highlights that 14 Nordic climate solutions would enable cities and municipalities in the Nordic countries to reduce their annual greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 26 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – equivalent to almost half of Sweden’s annual emissions.

The Nordic Green to Scale project has investigated the potential of low-carbon solutions across different sectors including: buildings and waste, mobility and transport, and energy. Some of these low-carbon solutions include:

Onshore wind (Energy) – Rinkøbing, DK
District heating from waste water (Energy) –Turku, FI
Geothermal district heating (Energy) – Reykjavík, IS
Ground source heat pumps (Buildings) – Stockholm, SE
Public transport in urban areas (Transport) – Helsinki, FI
Electric vehicles (Transport) – Oslo, NO
Cycling in urban areas (Transport) – Copenhagen, DK
Biogas from food waste (Waste) – Oslo, NO
Reduction of retail food waste (Waste) –Vantaa, FI

In addition to reducing carbon emissions, scaling-up these solutions could also make cities more livable and healthier at a negative cost. The report project found that scaling up 14 Nordic solutions could save Nordic cities a total of 460 million euros.