Perth leaders turning to Finland in bid to be most sustainable small city

Community leaders in Perth plan to learn lessons from Finland in their bid to turn their home into the most sustainable small city in Europe.

Pekka Timonen is the mayor of the Finnish city of Lahti. The European Commission named the city of 120,000 people European Green Capital last year.

Mr Timonen will address members of the Perth City Leadership Forum at a virtual conference on January 21.

He has spoken in the past about Lahti’s journey from its industrial roots to becoming a “modern, advanced, environmental” city.

The free event, which is open to all, will focus on ways to improve biodiversity in Perth.

It comes after city leaders announced their bid to make Perth the most sustainable small city in Europe in November 2020.

Mr Timonen will provide an insight into the environmental actions Lahti is taking in order to achieve its goal of being carbon-neutral by 2025 – 20 years earlier than the Scottish Government’s own target.

Perth leaders are planning for their home to become Scotland’s first carbon-neutral city by 2040.

Mike Robinson, chairman of the Perth City Leadership Forum, said the forum plans to shine a spotlight on key themes for action that will help tackle poverty and inclusion as well as addressing the climate and biodiversity crises.

He said: “Perthshire is quite rightly considered one of the most beautiful parts of Scotland.

“As a city, Perth is inextricably linked to the incredible landscapes, nature and biodiversity on its doorsteps.”

Mr Robinson is also chief executive of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. He said COP26 last year showed how important biodiversity and ecosystems are to addressing the climate crisis.

“We know that connecting people to nature is incredibly positive for people’s wellbeing.

“This conference will bring folk together to learn from inspiring examples of how we can work together to take the actions needed in these critical years to come.”

The forum has supported a number of initiatives so far.

They include plans to

develop Scotland’s first private power grid with an aim of powering the city’s electric vehicle fleet.

Six workshops at the biodiversity event will focus on a number of themes including creating

more tree corridors and using more natural flood defences.

A member of the Naturescot team will go on to highlight biodiversity success stories from around Scotland.

GREEN GOALS: It is hoped that Perth will become Scotland’s first carbon-neutral city by 2040. Pictures by Steve Macdougall.

Perth City Leadership Forum chairman Mike Robinson.