You may have heard that Bristol has been shortlisted to be the European Green Capital but do you know what that means?

The European Green Capital is a project that began as an idea in 2006 and the first Green Capital will be announced in February 2009 and will name the Green Capital for 2010.

The winning city will hold the title for the year, much like the "European Capital of Culture", and will be an example to other cities in the way it handles environmental challenges facing society that originate from urban areas.

The following year the title will pass to the next winner. Winners are announced well in advance to allow the winning cities to prepare for their year as the European Green Capital.

Europe's population now live mainly in urban environments with four out of five Europeans living in towns and cities. The competition web site says:

The award marks a city's wish and capability to solve environmental problems in order to both improve the quality of life of its citizens and reduce the contribution it makes to the global environment as a whole.

Over 40 major European cities, including 21 EU capitals support the initiative. Only cities with a population of more then 200,000 qualify and must be an "administrative unit" governed by a city council. City councils have to apply to the competition, as entry is not automatic.