Stockholm is earning its title as European Green Capital 2010 with an inventive scheme which recycles human body heat in the central station for use in the neighbouring buildings. Though this is the most headline grabbing initiative, the Swedish capital h

Reporter: Renewable power to the people

Stockholm is   the European Green Capital for 2010.

It's the first city to be a model   for sustainable development.

Next year the Swedish capital's aim   is to have only clean cars in its streets.

and Stockholm Station is heated   by human warmth.

Stockholm Central Station, the biggest   and busiest in northern Europe.

More than 250,000 people   come through here every day.

Each traveller gives off body heat   in the rush to catch trains.

That heat is now to be recycled to help   power a new office building next door.

All the people here, the shops,   everything produce lots of energy.

That energy increases   the heat in this volume of air.

In here it's about 25 degrees while up in   the ceiling it's around 33 degrees.

That's too much, so we cool this building.   All the shops have cooling systems.

We'll transfer this energy to the new   building, which will be an office building.

It's a new idea using   century-old heat exchange technology.

The hot air heats water that is pumped   through pipes to the new office building,

where it will be heated   using conventional methods.

and just use things you're certain   will work in the future.

We have also tried to find solutions   that we can use on our older buildings.

We have railway stations   that are more than 150 years old.

Stockholm Station was built   in the 19th century

and is an ideal candidate   for a low-tech approach.

Its owners want the neighbourhood to be   a laboratory for energy-saving ideas.

You don't need to use   that much electricity.

In fact the energy bill   will go down by a third,

But this isn't the only reason   why the EU chose Stockholm

Since 1990, the city has reduced   carbon emissions by 25%.

This reduction is part of   a much more ambitious target -

to be totally independent of fossil fuels   by 2050.

Stockholm became   the first European Green Capital

and we have really benefited a lot   from this.

A lot of visitors, a lot of opportunities   for companies in Stockholm

to prove their competence   in green solutions.

It's also a great opportunity for the city

to work through what we have been doing   in order to be a sustainable city.

To cut fossil fuel use   as much as possible,

Stockholm has concentrated on transport.

In 2007, an urban toll system   was put in place,

resulting in fewer cars   and more public transport.

Nearly everyone has access   less than 300 metres from their home.

Another popular means of transport are   bicycles as you see all over Stockholm.

In a few years the number of cyclists   in the city streets has doubled.

Stockholm is ideally suited to becoming   and remaining 100% green.

Stockholm is a model   for green management.

Respect for the environment   is in all of the city's projects.

In this city called "Venice of the North",

95% of inhabitants live less than   300 metres from a green space.