Oslo, the capital of Norway

Baoquocte.vn. With a population of less than 1 million people, Oslo, the capital of Norway - a beautiful Nordic country, is striving to achieve green transformation goals and proving to be a typical model of realizing green goals in real life.

The green beauty of Oslo from a city angle. (Source: Sustain Europe)

“Lack” of noise

With progressive policies, innovative initiatives and community engagement, the story of European Green Capital 2019 is a valuable lesson for urban governments around the world aiming for sustainable urban development.

Oslo aims to be carbon neutral by 2030. To achieve this goal, which is considered the most ambitious in the world, the City has made efforts to apply many measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in many different areas.

A green park in Oslo. (Source: Sustain Europe)

These days, when you pass by a construction site in Oslo, you will still encounter the usual scenes: neatly stacked construction materials, construction workers toiling hard on the site and on excavators... However, you will notice the absence of one easily recognizable feature of any construction site - noise.

This is one of the outcomes of the Climate Budget that Oslo pioneered in 2017. Accordingly, environmental targets are integrated into annual financial plans, helping authorities measure and track greenhouse gas emissions reductions in sectors over the budget cycle. Construction, transport and waste incineration - which account for around 90% of the city's total emissions - are among the priority sectors.

By 2023, electric cars will account for 70% of all cars sold in Oslo. (Source: Sustain Europe)

Oslo aims to create the world's first zero-emission construction sites. The city has implemented a number of innovative solutions in the construction industry, such as using only electric excavators and equipment, converting diesel excavators to electric and battery-powered, using electric heavy construction equipment, and adopting zero-emission technologies.

The Climate Budget is the first initiative of its kind in the world and is seen as a breakthrough tool to help city governments tackle urban emissions.

The capital of electric vehicles

In the field of public transport, Oslo is at the forefront of adopting green solutions, prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists, and promoting the energy transition of public transport, focusing mainly on electric vehicles (EV).

Electric charging stations in Oslo. (Source: Sustain Europe)

The city's public transport system, including trains, ferries and buses, is now almost entirely electric, and the goal is for 100% of public transport to be powered by renewable energy by 2030.

By 2023, electric vehicles will account for 70% of all cars sold in Oslo, making Oslo the world capital of electric vehicles per capita. To encourage more people to use electric vehicles, the city government has invested in and installed over 2,000 new charging points for electric vehicles and applied incentive policies such as reducing tolls, free parking, and creating easy access to bus routes...

In addition to its electrification efforts, the city is also encouraging active travel by expanding its bike lanes. Since 2017, Oslo has built 100 km of new bike lanes, which has significantly increased the number of cyclists by 51%.

Buses run on fuel from trash

Interestingly, Oslo’s public bus system runs on fuel collected from organic waste. Currently, around 40% of residents’ household waste is recycled, and this percentage is expected to increase. Reuse and recycling are measures that the Oslo city government is adopting instead of traditional methods to manage waste more effectively, promoting circularity in the economy, with the goal of reducing Oslo’s waste by 30% per capita by 2030.

Public buses in Oslo run on fuel recovered from organic waste. (Source: Sustain Europe)

One of the reasons Oslo was voted the European Green Capital of 2019 is that the city has many green urban spaces: large parks, botanical gardens, tree-lined streets, fresh air... This has made people more actively participate in the green transition because they are the ones who directly benefit, every day, from those efforts.

Oslo remains committed to its goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. Oslo’s story has and will continue to inspire many other cities and capitals around the world in their green transition to reduce their carbon footprint, improve the quality of life of their citizens, and spark global action for a greener future for all.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/oslo-tourism-of-na-uy-kien-dinh-tren-con-duong-xanh-300170.html