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UNEP/Cities Alliance/ICLEI report shows how to make
cities more liveable, boost investment and help
address climate change
Bali, Indonesia, 11
December 2007 – From the use of
horse-drawn carriages to solve public transport
shortage in Bayamo, Cuba to an emissions trading
scheme in Taiyuan, China, cities around the world
are providing inspiring examples in the global quest
for sustainability and the fight against climate
change.
 The
report, Liveable Cities: The Benefits of Urban
Environmental Planning, published by the Cities
Alliance, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability,
showcases 12 examples of cities around the world.
It explores various options for sustainable urban
development ranging from practical tools and
comprehensive policies to innovative market
mechanisms.
“The report contains many ‘take home’ messages –
environmental management can boost city budgets,
prove a strong marketing tool for attracting
investors and contribute to public health and
poverty eradication,” said UN
Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director,
Achim Steiner at the launch of the report today at
the Local Government Climate Sessions at the UN
Climate Conference in Bali, Indonesia.
“A modern city can only be truly successful if it
can convincingly demonstrate its green credentials
by recognizing its natural assets, creating
efficient water, energy and transport
infrastructure, and protecting its citizens in the
face of present and future impacts of climate
change,” he added.
For example, the City of Bayamo in Cuba, faced with
a situation where motorized transport was available
to just 15 percent of local commuters, has in 2004
reverted to horse-drawn carriages. Horse-drawn
services now take care of around 40 percent of local
transport needs, demonstrating that motorised
transport is not the only solution to a public
transport problem.
The Municipality of Bohol in the Philippines has
been using the ecoBUDGET© tool, an environmental
management system that incorporates natural
resources and environmental goods into budgeting
cycles, to achieve the twin objectives of
environmental sustainability and poverty
alleviation.
Taiyuan, an industrial city in the coal belt of
northern China, is addressing urban air quality
problem by introducing a city-wide emissions trading
scheme to help reduce sulphur dioxide (SO2)
concentration in the atmosphere.
The report makes a strong case for the environment
as the key asset for cities. For example, a 2006
survey of professionals working in Hong Kong
revealed that almost four out of five professionals
were thinking of leaving or new others who have
already left because of the quality of the natural
environment, while 94 percent ranked it as the top
factor in selecting a place to live.
“Cities today have to be competitive. They operate
in a global marketplace, competing with other cities
and urban settlements around the world for
investment. A city cannot compete, however, if it
cannot offer investors security, infrastructure and
efficiency. Hardly any city can offer these elements
without incorporating environmental issues into its
planning and management strategies,” said Cities
Alliance Manager, William Cobbett.
“Today’s cities only cover one-third of the urban
area we will have in 2030. That gives city mayors
and planners the opportunity to influence what kind
of cityscape we will have in the future. At present,
city sprawl is dominating the scene with tripling of
space requirement for every doubling of city
population. With bold leadership we can prevent slum
proliferation and urban sprawl through building
denser and more energy and transport efficient
cities that will curb the negative trend of
undermining the natural resource base the cities are
built upon,” he continued.
With an estimated 80 percent of greenhouse gas
emissions originating in cities and three-quarters
of urban settlements located in coastal areas at
risk from sea-level rise, local governments are also
increasingly involved in global efforts to address
climate change.
“Through initiatives like ICLEI’s Cities for Climate
Protection campaign and C40, cities around the world
are taking the lead in cutting greenhouse gas
emissions – some with targets above and beyond
national commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
Furthermore, climate change adaptation is top of the
agenda for many developing country cities featured
in this report, including the ancient city of
Alexandria in the Nile Delta, South Africa’s coastal
jewel of Cape Town, and Asia’s booming megalopolis
of Bangkok,” said ICLEI Secretary-General, Konrad
Otto-Zimmermann.
Over 65 cities and local governments are
participating in the two-day Local Government
Climate Sessions in Bali. These sessions, organised
by ICLEI in collaboration with UNEP at UN Climate
Conferences since 2005, give local authorities an
opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the global
climate change negotiations, as well as showcase
their climate actions.
“As champions of the climate cause and centers for
innovation, efficiency, investment, and
productivity, cities are posed to play an
increasingly prominent role in the international
climate change debate. It is in cities that climate
and sustainability solutions for more than half of
the humanity will be found,” concluded UNEP
Executive Director Steiner.
Download the report
from:
For more information,
please contact
At UNEP: Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson, at
mobile: + 41 795965737, or e-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org;
or Anne-France White, Associate Media Officer, at
tel: +254 20 762 3088, or e-mail:
anne-france.white@unep.org.
At Cities Alliance: Chii Akporji,
Communications Officer, at tel: +1 202 473 1935 or
e-mail:
cakporji@citiesalliance.org.
At ICLEI: Tanya Imola, International Media
Coordinator, at tel: +1 416 392 1462 or e-mail:
tanya.imola@iclei.org.
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