Curitiba, Brazil, ranked as the greenest city in Latin America

During the World Mayors Summit on Climate (WMSC) in Mexico City, the Brazilian city Curitiba was honoured as the greenest city in Latin America. In the newly published Green City Index, Curitiba is the highest ranking city, but other Brazilian cities, too, score above average. Carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit, The Latin American Green City Index measures and compares the environmental sustainability of 17 major Latin American cities in eight countries.

At a press conference the price was handed over to Luciano Ducci, the mayor of Curitiba (read our expert interview here). He expressed his gratitude and thanked citizens of Curitiba for contributing to the creation of a sustainable city. He stressed that ‘Curitiba will keep on working harder and harder. Many things are happening in terms of sustainability and many more are still to happen’. Curitiba continues to fight for the many possibilities for a sustainable future. At sustianablecitiesTM we have already written a case on the green Curitiba - read it here.

The Latin American Green City Index analyzes the ambitions and the actual performance of Latin American cities in respect of environmental and climate protection across eight different categories: energy and CO2, land use and buildings, transport, waste, water, sanitation, air quality, and environmental governance. ‘The study shows that cities that take a holistic approach score particularly well’, Leo Abruzzese, Global Forecasting Director at the Economist Intelligence Unit, explained. Curitiba, for instance, a city of 1.7 million inhabitants, has been pursuing a long-term strategy since the 1960s to control urban sprawl, and to plan and manage its transportation systems. By contrast, cities that respond in an ad hoc manner to the urgent problems facing them generally score lower. In such cities, the infrastructure growth tends to be less coordinated, which has a negative impact on overall efficiency.

According to the United Nations Population Division, around 81 % of the population of Latin America lives in cities, making these countries some of the most heavily urbanized emerging economies. Worldwide, more than 50 % of people live in cities, and urbanization is the trigger of many problems being experienced in traffic management, and in power and water supply. Cities are also at the forefront in the battle to combat climate change.

The Latin American comparative study of sustainable urban infrastructure is the second ‘Green City Index’. In 2009 a Green City Index of European cities was carried out and published at the COP 15. According to this index Copenhagen was Europe's ‘greenest city’. Read different cases about green initiatives in Copenhagen here, here and here.

Similar surveys are planned for other world regions. In many Latin American countries, the topic of sustainability has not yet taken hold as it has in Europe. This is why the Latin American Green City Index may be regarded as a pioneering effort in helping to disseminate knowledge of sustainable urban infrastructure in Latin America. LA cities cannot make same mistakes as cities in the rest of the world. They need to implement new methods and play a key role in highlighting new ideas.

At Sustainable Cities TM we welcome Curitiba as the greenest city in Latin America. And we hope the Green City Index will be able to foster learning between the Latin American cities. The index stresses Curitiba's importance as a role model in the region. And that is what the Index is all about - passing on best practises and knowledge. We hope cities, like Curitiba, will be part of the solution for a more sustainable future.