The City of Kalmar is located off the Baltic Sea in southwest Sweden. With a population of just over 36,000, Kalmar is a small industrial city with an ambitious vision for a socially, ecologically and economically sustainable future.

The Municipality of Kalmar, comprising 12 regions and 60,000 residents, is a model for low-carbon energy generation in Sweden. By 2030, Kalmar seeks to become a fossil fuel free region. The construction of a fossil-fuel free power plant in Kalmar was completed in 2009, which now provides many of the city’s residential and industrial premises with heat. In addition, all city buses in Kalmar run on biogas produced at municipal wastewater treatment plants. Currently, two thirds of the Municipality is powered by renewable energy.

As Sweden prepares to assume the presidency of the European Union in July 2012, it is positioning itself as a regional leader in addressing climate change. Towards this aim, the coastal city of Kalmar serves as an integral model for sustainable energy generation.