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Which Cities are Leading the Green Revolution?
Discover the greenest cities with our eco-friendly cities ranking. Explore the best cities for sustainability, urban green spaces and public transport.
As the world’s population continues to urbanise, sustainability has become one of the defining challenges for modern city planning. Today’s most forward-thinking urban areas are evolving into eco centres – cities that prioritise renewable energy, efficient public transport, clean air and access to urban green spaces. These eco centres are not just reducing their environmental footprint; they are also shaping healthier, more liveable environments for residents.
With climate pressures mounting, the demand for eco-friendly cities ranking systems has grown, helping policymakers, investors and individuals to identify the best cities for sustainability. iSelect’s latest study compares leading urban areas worldwide, analysing factors such as green space availability, air quality, renewable energy use, and even their position in the public transport cities ranking.
The result is a clear picture of the greenest cities in 2025 – the places setting the pace in environmental innovation and showing how urban life and sustainability can thrive together.
Top 10 greenest cities in 2025
To reveal the eco-friendly cities ranking, we scored 100 global cities on their overall environmental performance. Each city’s position reflects how well it performed across four key metrics: average PM2.5 levels for air quality (the lower, the better), number of parks and gardens per 100,000 residents, availability of EV chargers per 100,000 people, and the share of energy consumption coming from renewable sources.
Together, these factors provide a balanced view of which urban areas are leading the way towards a more sustainable future. Based on the survey results, here are the world’s best cities for sustainability.
1. London (United Kingdom)
A bustling hub of commerce and culture with a population of over 9.8 million, London ranks at number one globally for greenest cities in 2025. This is thanks to an air quality index of 7.8 PM2.5, with 409 parks and gardens overall (4.16 per 100k population) and 12.03 EV chargers per 100,000 residents. The city also has a total renewables consumption rate of over 58 billion kWh, earning a normalised score of 0.47. Together, these achievements give London a Green Cities Index score of 57.23.
2. Glasgow (United Kingdom)
Head north into Scotland and you’ll find another UK location that’s known for being one of the best cities for sustainability. Glasgow has a population of more than 1.7 million and PM2.5 air quality of 5.6. There are 2.21 parks and green spaces and 25.42 EV chargers per 100,000 residents, and the city uses over 10 billion kWh of renewables (normalised score of 1.00). These factors give Glasgow a total score of 56.42.
3. Rockingham (Australia)
Despite a population of just 108,022, Rockingham very much stands out in our eco-friendly cities ranking. The PM2.5 air quality is 4.5, plus there’s 33.33 urban green spaces per 100,000 of the population. There are only 6.48 EV chargers per 100,000 people but renewables consumption is decent at just over 987 million kWh, and a normalised score of 0.25. Overall, Rockingham scores 53.71 for greenness.
4. Hamburg (Germany)
Heading back over to Europe, we have Hamburg at number four. Despite the city’s large population of almost 1.8 million, the air quality is good at 8.7 PM2.5. Hamburg also has 5.65 urban green spaces and 23.21 EV chargers per 100,000 people. Renewables consumption sits at a relatively high 15 billion kWh, and a normalised score of 0.91 (beaten only by Glasgow). This gives Hamburg an eco-centre score of 51.78.
5. Toowoomba (Australia)
Another Australian location that makes the top ten eco-friendly cities ranking is Toowoomba. With a population of 131,258, this city has a PM2.5 of 3.6, alongside 23.62 parks per 100,000 people. However, Toowoomba does fall behind when it comes to EV chargers, as there are 3.05 per 100,000 residents. When these factors are combined with renewables consumption of over 1.2 billion kWh (normalised score of 0.12), Toowoomba gets a score of 44.31.
6. Canberra (Australia)
Canberra is yet another Australian urban centre that makes the greenest cities in 2025, with a population of over 367,000 and a PM2.5 of 3.9. There are 18.22 parks and green spaces and 3.53 EV chargers per 100,000 of the population, and over 3 billion kWh (normalised score of 0.14) of renewables are used. This results in Canberra scoring 40.48 in the Green Cities Index.
7. Munich (Germany)
Almost 1.6 million people call Munich home, so its PM2.5 air quality score of 8.3 is impressive. Add to this 10.25 urban green spaces and 11.82 EV chargers per 100,000, plus over 14 billion kWh (normalised score of 0.46) of renewables consumed, and the city scores 39.82.
8. Berlin (Germany)
The third German location to feature in our eco-friendly cities ranking is none other than the country’s capital, Berlin. A population of over 3.5 million, a PM2.5 measurement of 10.8, a total of 8.60 green spaces and 10.47 EV chargers per 100,000, plus over 32 billion kWh of renewable consumption all work together to create a score of 37.52.
9. Helsinki (Finland)
Europe is clearly a hub of eco-friendly cities, as Helsinki makes the list at number nine. More than 1.3 million people live here, and the city’s air quality score is 5.5 PM2.5. There are 9.15 parks and gardens as well as 6.49 EV chargers per 100,000 of the population. Meanwhile, total city renewables consumption sits at over 30 billion kWh, earning a score of 0.26. Helsinki gains a score of 35.80.
10. Launceston (Australia)
At number ten it’s Launceston, which means that Australia is home to four of the world’s top ten best cities for sustainability. The population of the city is 106,153, the PM2.5 is 4.1, and there are 9.42 green spaces and 5.65 EV chargers per 100,000 residents, respectively. Renewables consumption is over 970 million kWh (normalised score of 0.22), which when normalised puts the city in a stronger position than Canberra on renewable consumption. Despite its relatively small size, Launceston is doing big things in terms of eco-friendliness and receives a Green Cities Index score of 35.51.
“Eco-friendly cities can be an attractive thing for those looking for a combination of city living with a touch of the great outdoors
“Eco-living doesn’t stop at our door though, and there’s ways we can contribute to eco-living at home through a better understanding of your energy usage and trying to reduce, reuse and recycle.
“At the same time, it’s important to compare energy suppliers to try and find energy providers that align with your home, your lifestyle and your budget.”
Julia Paszka
General Manager – Utilities at iSelect
Written by:
Sarah Grealy
Digital Public Relations Specialist
0413 363 690
Sarah is our Digital Public Relations Specialist, and brings more than a decade of experience in the insurance comparison industry to iSelect.
With a passion for storytelling through data-driven insights, Sarah strives to empower Aussies with practical guides and tips.
About the data
This dataset ranks 100 cities from Australia, North America, and Europe based on their eco-friendliness using 4 key factors. Each factor’s data was collected and normalised to a score between 0 and 1. If data was missing, a score of 0 was given. These scores were then combined to give each country a total score out of 100, and countries were ranked from highest to lowest.
Factors used are:
– Air quality: Average air quality for 2025/2024 or the closest year possible in PM2.5 (a measurement of particulate matter in the air). Found via IQ Air and WHO.
– Greenspaces: Count of green spaces such as parks and gardens. The count per 100,000 population was then calculated using each city’s population. Found via OpenStreetMap.
– Public Transport & Infrastructure: Count of the different types of public transports in each city, and count of which ones are ECO friendly (i.e. electric, or alternative fuel sources). Also count of public EV chargers could be added here or used as replacement. The count per 100,000 population was then calculated using each city’s population. Found via Open Charge Map, OpenStreetMap,
– Energy Consumption: A breakdown of the average energy consumption of each city by each of the sources to see how much renewable energy is being used. Where data was missing for Country the average for the continent was used. Found via Our World in Data.
Population found via World Population Review.
Factors to be weighted evenly unless weighting is required after results.
Indexing rules:
– Lower is better for air quality.
– Higher is better for all other factors.
All data is accurate as of 14/08/25 and comes from multiple sources. Rankings reflect these sources but may not capture every real-life detail.
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