The city of Nice continues its commitment to ecological transition through renaturalization and tree planting. Yesterday, Wednesday, April 19, the launch of the “Nice Green City” Fund for businesses took place, with the goal of achieving as many trees as there are residents by 2026.
In March 2019, an ambitious greening plan was initiated. Since then, Nice has gained over 36 hectares of greenery and has become the first French city in terms of tree heritage percentage, according to KERMAP. The goal is to plant an additional 280,000 trees by 2026, with 66,675 trees having already been planted since 2021.
Why is it important to plant trees?
The increase of green spaces in Nice presents numerous environmental benefits, such as reducing CO2 emissions. Trees and other vegetation absorb carbon dioxide from the air and help reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Moreover, reducing asphalt surfaces helps combat the heat retention of materials and the formation of urban heat islands.
The “Nice Green City” Fund
The “Nice Green City” Fund aims to open and share greening initiatives with the economic stakeholders of the area, by bringing together sponsoring and civic-minded companies around common issues: better urban living and togetherness, acting for ecological transition, contributing to the beautification of the shared living and working environment.
Christian Estrosi
Thus, the solution found by the city of Nice to enhance the greening of the city is corporate sponsorship. Companies can target their donations and benefit from tax deductions, carbon credits, and visibility for the actions undertaken. Yesterday, the first sponsors participating in the project signed as a commitment: Century 21, Le Méridien hotel, Heaven Travel agency, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Life Terra foundation, BACC accounting firm, and Transcan.
An Online Tree Counter
To track the progress, an online tree counter is available. It allows the progress of this greening policy to be displayed and informs the residents of Nice in real-time. It will also be installed in the city center by the summer, on the Promenade du Paillon at the level of the water mirror.
