Vancouver has been chosen as the Canadian winner of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) green city challenge, keeping the city in the running for the title of international Earth Hour City.
The city was selected as a Canadian finalist in January, along with Surrey and Colwood, B.C.
Vancouver will now represent Canada in the Earth Hour City Challenge and is competing against fellow finalists from the U.S., Sweden, Norway, Italy and India.
The competition's jury said Vancouver was selected to represent Canada because of its "holistic and long-term vision on urban development, the effort toward local city food systems and ambitious targets for government performance."
Mayor Gregor Robertson said, "Being named the Canadian winner of WWF's Earth Hour City Challenge is a strong validation of our efforts to be the greenest city in the world by 2020. In Vancouver we're demonstrating that building a greener city fosters a strong local economy."
The winner of the Earth Hour City Challenge will be announced March 19 in Malmo, Sweden.
