Guimarães was distinguished as Portugal’s National Winner in the 2025-2026 edition of the One Planet City Challenge (OPCC), an international initiative promoted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) that recognizes the most ambitious cities committed to climate action and sustainable urban development, according to a press release.
According to the same source, the ceremony took place this Tuesday in Hamburg, Germany, as part of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, and was attended by the president of the Guimarães City Council, Ricardo Araújo, who accepted the distinction on behalf of the city.
Created by the WWF in 2011, the One Planet City Challenge is currently one of the most important international programs for evaluating local climate action. In the 2025-2026 edition, more than 380 cities from 51 countries participated, assessed for the quality of their climate strategies and the reporting carried out through the international CDP-ICLEI Track platform.
The shortlist brought together some of the world’s most recognized cities for their work in sustainability, including Paris, Melbourne, Toronto, Florence, Tokyo, Oslo, Mexico City, San Francisco, and Zurich. In Portugal, only Guimarães, Cascais and Matosinhos made it to the final phase of the competition, with Guimarães being named the National Winner.
This distinction comes in the year when Guimarães is European Green Capital 2026 and reinforces the international recognition of the territory’s sustainability strategy that has been strengthening over the past decade. The award is also aligned with Guimarães’ long-term vision, which aims to establish itself as a One Planet City by 2030, inspired by the principles of One Planet Living. This ambition also gives its name to the slogan of the European Green Capital, “One Planet City,” reflecting the commitment to build a territory that promotes quality of life while respecting the planet’s ecological limits.
For Ricardo Araújo, president of the Guimarães City Council, “this international recognition from WWF distinguishes Guimarães’ vision and climate ambition, but above all the work that has been carried out on the ground. It is the result of a strategy that bets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, on strengthening tree cover and biodiversity, on valuing natural resources, on reducing waste and on investing in more sustainable and accessible mobility. More than a source of pride, this distinction represents an incentive to continue involving the people of Guimarães in the construction of a true One Planet City.”
WWF’s recognition “reinforces Guimarães’ international standing as one of Europe’s reference cities in climate action, validating a strategy that unites innovation, citizen participation, biodiversity protection, circular economy, sustainable mobility and adaptation to climate change, consolidating the ambition to make Guimarães a One Planet City.”
