Panevėžys City Municipality, together with seven cities from various countries of the Baltic Sea Region, took an initiative a few years ago and joined forces to improve water quality in the Baltic Sea Region. Baltic Sea Accelerator Programme has been developed for this purpose. At the beginning of the programme, meetings were organized, discussions were held on the status of the Baltic Sea environment and sustainable development of the community. Baltic Sea Action Plan was prepared. This year, Panevėžys joins the Baltic Sea Cities Accelerator Club, which unites world experts and municipal employees, who will work together to find innovative solutions that improve the quality of local water, and seek to prevent waste from entering local waters.

‘Panevėžys was the first city in the Baltic States to accept the Declaration on Extreme Climate Change and joined the global network of cities that approved this document. Intensive economic activity has put the Baltic Sea ecosystem at risk, so we all need to feel responsible and take actions. I am pleased that that the problems of climate change are relevant not only to the Municipality, but also to business, our community, which feels responsibility and becomes part of the solutions itself. We have to work together to strive for the most ecological, sustainable, clean lifestyle possible and, thus, protect the environment around us, ‘says Rytis Račkauskas, Mayor of Panevėžys City.

With the participation of the municipality in the activities of the Baltic Sea Accelerator Programme, the bank of the Nevėžis River were adapted to the needs of the urban community. The Baltic Sea City Accelerator Club will join the forces of the most innovative, modern cities that care about the future of the Baltic Sea. In this way, the municipality will contribute to the mitigation of climate change and the creation of a green image of the city.

We would like to remind you that one of the strategic goals of Panevėžys is to improve the quality of the environment. Panevėžys City Municipality has prepared an action plan for the preservation of the Baltic Sea, the Blue Strategy. This document is an investment plan that will help attract private investors to solve the problems of sustainable water management in the city.

The Baltic Sea Cities Accelerator Programme is a platform for public and private sector organisations and institutions to explore and jointly develop innovative ideas related to local water management challenges and sustainability goals.