From an almost 100% dependence on gas and coal, the city of Liepaja managed to reduce this to about 20%. It fits in the policies of Mayor Gunars Ansins to continue making his city greener and more sustainable.
As Mayor, Ansins sees it as a priority to make his city more green and sustainable. Improving the heat supply system, promoting more sustainable means of transportation and raising the general awareness about the importance of joint action against climate change are just some of the topics he has been actively working on over the years. It’s therefore no coincidence that Liepaja is one of 100 cities participating in the EU’s Mission for climate- neutral and smart cities by 2030. This will ensure that his city will act as an experimentation and innovation hub to put all European cities in a position to become climate-neutral by 2030. Other cities include for instance Bratislava with Mayor Matus Vallo, Taurage with Mayor Dovydas Kaminskas and The Hague with Mayor Jan Van Zanen. They will all receive EU support to achieve the goal of climate-neutrality.
Ansins identifies several priorities for his city, such as safe energy, energy efficiency and climate; he is now succeeding in reducing his city’s dependence on fossil fuels:
What we are doing for the city is good for the climate, for our citizens and for energy independence from Russia
More on Gunars Ansins’ work in the Mayors of Europe profile, which discusses education, industrial development and youth leadership.
