EU Green Week Opening Event in Lahti European Green Capital 2021

EU Green Week 2021
Opening Event 31 May

 

EU GREEN WEEK HIGH-LEVEL OPENING EVENT
Citizen Science for Zero Pollution

Virtually from Lahti on 31 May 2021 12:00 – 16:00 (CEST)

The European Green Week High-Level Opening Event dedicated to Citizen Science for Zero Pollution will take place virtually from Lahti on 31 May 2021. The event aims to shed light on the citizen-driven research and planning activities that target towards Zero-Pollution future of Europe.

Citizen Science for Zero Pollution event opens the discussion of the EU Zero Pollution Action Plan with the three themes air, water and soil. We welcome decision-makers, city officials, experts, students and researchers from European cities to join the event and share their ideas. Participation at the event is free of charge, but registration is compulsory. All times are CEST.

Register here

PLENARY SESSION 1

Host and Moderator Peter Nyman

12:00 Welcoming words, Mayor of Lahti Pekka Timonen
12:05 Keynote: Towards zero-pollution Europe, Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius
12:15 Keynote: Building carbon neutral Finland 2035 with cities and towns,
Minister of Environment and Climate, Ms Krista Mikkonen
12:35 Keynote: How to empower societies for Zero Pollution ambitions through citizen science, Executive Chair of the European Citizen Science Association, Dr. Susanne Hecker
12:50 Q&A: EU commissioner Sinkevičius, Minister Mikkonen and Dr. Hecker

13:10 – 13:30 Break: Classical music concert by Sinfonia Lahti String Quartet

Parallel Sessions

13:30 – 14:45 (see the full program below)
Session 1: Air quality measured by European citizens/cities
Session 2: How to improve the conditions of European soils?
Session 3: Stormwater Management in Water Sensitive Cities

14:45 – 15:00 Break

Plenary Session 2

15:00 – 15:45 Joint Closing session – Campfire with youth group: what did we learn?

A joint closing session with youth from City of Lahti (Mika Myllyntaus and Miika Hartman) and City of Lappeenranta, the European Green Leaf 2021 (Venla Lehikoinen and Anni Wahlman).

The closing session aims to find out what young people think about the topics discussed in the sessions. What was particularly exciting? Was there something very blurry? How young people want to participate in environmental actions, research activities and sustainable policy-making in Europe – and in their home towns and cities.

Parallel sessions

Session 1: Air quality measured by European citizens/cities

  • Moderator: Maija Leino, Finnish Air pollution prevention society
13:30 – 13:50 Keynote: Overview of EU clean air policy in the overall framework of the European Green Deal’s zero pollution ambition
Head of the Clean Air Unit François Wakenhut, Directorate-General for the environment of the Eu Commission
13:50 – 14:05 Case study: Sensoring urban air quality
Executive vice president Jarkko Sairanen & Global market manager Hannamari Jaakkola, Vaisala & Programme Director Saara Vauramo, City of Lahti, European Green Capital 2021
14:05 – 14:15 Case study: Reducing street dust by co-operation with municipality and residents in Lappeenranta
Environmental protection manager, Sara Piutunen, City of Lappeenranta – European Green Leaf 2021
14:15 – 14:25 Case study: Air quality measurements and citizen engagement in St.Petersburg
Ivan Serebritsky, Deputy head of the Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety, St. Petersburg
14:25 – 14:35 Case study: Combining citizen science and official air quality data – a win-win situation
Dr. Hester Volten, air quality scientist at the RIVM, a member of the Citizen Science Interest Group of the EEA and of ECSA
14:35 – 14:45 Q&A

Session 2: How to improve the conditions of European soils?

  • Moderator: Heikki Setälä, professor, University of Helsinki
13:30 – 13:50 Keynote: What should we understand from the toxicology and condition of European soils?
Professor Cornelis A.M. (Kees) van Gestel, Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
13:50 – 14:05 Case study: Life LUNGS project
Project manager Inês Freire, City of Lisbon EU Green Capital 2020
14:05 – 14:20 Case study: E-college for regenerative farming: Free education for all farmers to focus on soil health
Managing Director Michaela Ramm-Schmidt, Baltic Sea Action Group
14:20 – 14:35 Case study: Effects of soil microbiota diversity on human health
Marja Roslund, University of Helsinki
14:35 – 14:45 Panel discussion

Session 3: Stormwater Management in Water Sensitive Cities

  • Moderator: Annina Takala, President of Water Association Finland
13:30 Opening and official welcome from EWA
Annina Takala
13:35 – 14.00 Keynote: Current and future challenges of stormwater management
Professor Patrick Willems, KU Leuven
14:03 – 14:13 Case study: Improving stormwater quality – Innovative solutions from Lahti and Finland
Juhani Järveläinen, City of Lahti
14:16 – 14:26 Case study: Integrated Water Management in Berlin
Gerhard Mauer, Berliner Wasserbetriebe
14:26 – 14:45 Comments to the public “padlet” and closing remarks

Plenary session speakers

Pekka Timonen | Mayor of Lahti 
Welcoming words
Virginijus Sinkevičius | European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
Keynote: Towards zero-pollution Europe
Krista Mikkonen | Minister of Environment and Climate
Keynote: Building carbon-neutral Finland 2035 with cities and towns
Susanne Hecker | Chair of the European Citizen Science Association
Keynote: How to empower societies for Zero Pollution ambitions through citizen science?
Peter Nyman
Host and moderator

Keynote Speakers

François Wakenhut | Head of the Clean Air Unit in the Directorate-General for the environment of the European Commission
Current status of European Air quality. Session 1
Cornelis A.M. (Kees) van Gestel | Professor, the Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Science of the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
What should we understand from the toxicology and condition of European soils? Session 2
Patrick Willems | Professor, KU Leuven
Current and future challenges of storm water management. Session 3

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