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An International Framework for Local Action: Cities for Climate Protection Campaign
STRATEGYFoster international solidarity and cooperation
CHALLENGE
To assist local governments to reduce the emissions causing global climate change by influencing local energy, transportation, waste and land use practices
ACTION
Engage local governments in an international campaign that enables them to integrate measurable climate change emission reductions into local practice, policies and actions that address immediate municipal concerns.
PROFILE
The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) is the international sustainable development agency for local governments. Its mission is to build and support a worldwide movement of local governments to achieve tangible improvements in global environmental and sustainable development conditions through cumulative local actions.
CASE
Global climate change is inextricably linked to the increasing demand for energy and automated transport, much of which flows from the growth in urban populations. Recognizing the strong influence local government decisions exert on urban policies and practices, ICLEI established the Cities for Climate ProtectionTM (CCP) Campaign. The CCP is performance oriented. A milestone framework guides participating local governments toward achieving their emissions reduction goal. The framework begins with a local greenhouse gas emission inventory and forecast, proceeds to setting targets and developing an action plan, and culminates in the implementation and verification of measures
The operation of the CCP is decentralized through a number of national or regional offices that provide local governments with technical assistance, training, materials and resource brokering to help them implement various measures. The regional efforts allow the CCP Campaign to be tailored to the needs of each region, while still providing a standardized international framework. Over 530 local governments participate in the campaign, collectively representing approximately 10% of the world's anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
RESULTS
Through the CCP, climate protection has begun to be successfully integrated into the decision-making processes of local governments throughout the world. Within the framework of the CCP, local governments have:
- become aware of the climate change problem,
- acquired an understanding of their role in contributing to climate change,
- seen possibilities for local solutions,
- recognized the local co-benefits of climate protection,
- been provided the tools, training, and capacity to act.
Most CCP municipalities are successfully working through the milestones and implementing measures.
A few examples include:
- Landfill Methane Utilization-Adelaide, Australia, is capturing landfill methane and using it to generate 15 gigawatt hours of electricity, enough to power 5,000 homes and offsetting the fossil fuel previously used.
- Street Light Retrofit-Querétaro, Mexico, replaced 10,000 high wattage street lights with more efficient lamps, cutting carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 4,000 tonnes/year.
- Green Homes Project-In Puerto Princessa, Philippines, energy efficiency measures integrated into the design of a 1,000-unit social housing project have saved 170 tonnes of carbon dioxide/year.
- Water and Sewerage Pumping Upgrade-Vadodara, India, replaced aging pumps at lift stations and treatment facilities to save 3.37 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, 15 million Rupees in energy bills, and 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions/year-all based on investments with simple paybacks of four to six months. The new pumps also improved overall system performance and brought the biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels in the treated effluent into regulatory compliance.
- Renewable Power Purchase-Austin, Texas, USA, requires that 5% of the city's electricity be generated from renewable sources. The city's municipal utility created the Green Choice program, a green pricing program which will help the utility meet over 50% of its projected load growth between 2000-2003 through megawatt savings from renewable energy sources. The program provides 340 million kilowatt-hour/year of renewable electricity from wind power, biogas and solar power generation, reducing approximately 230,000 tonnes (255,000 US tons) of carbon dioxide/year.
The CCP Campaign is intended to inspire local government action, therefore it was critical that the campaign be grounded in local government practice and methodologies. The local governments are the critical resource-without the support of elected officials, and action by the municipal management staff and operators, no progress can be made.
Many local governments recognized global climate change as a problem with links to urban development but were unclear about how municipal decisions contributed to it or could help mitigate it. It was essential for climate protection to be presented in a context that could integrate pressing municipal concerns such as reducing air and water pollution, improving sanitation and basic infrastructure, fostering economic development, and providing equitable access to resources and energy.
The provision of training, technical assistance and other support and the existence of a global network of local government peers engaged in a common pursuit were necessary for the program to be successful. The software tool, the training workshops around inventory methodology, measures selection and measures quantification, and the case studies and local government guides did not exist when the campaign was first launched. They were developed as ICLEI worked with the local governments and learned their needs. City-to-city exchange opportunities and assistance in securing project financing for measures were incorporated to help ensure that participating local authorities achieve campaign goals.
With ICLEI's help, local governments have been able to realize that tackling climate change is good business. For example, if a municipality decides to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by implementing energy efficiency measures, the action can reduce energy costs (fiscal responsibility), improve local air quality (quality of life) and create jobs during retrofit projects (economic development). The development and implementation of new technologies can stimulate local economic activity. Producing power locally contributes to self-sufficiency and limits the municipality's exposure from future increases in the cost of energy.
KEY REPLICATION FACTORS
The CCP illustrates that global issues are likely to be adopted at the local level if co-benefits, such as improving fiscal responsibility, urban livability, quality of life and economic development can be stressed.
A performance-oriented program requires a structure with key indicators and measurable goals. The milestones that CCP local governments are expected to undertake provide a strategic framework within which the local government can act, along with a protocol that facilitates monitoring and reporting both within the local government and to ICLEI. Such a program is also dependent on action by the local governments. To help ensure that ICLEI's mission for the CCP is achieved, prior to being accepted the local governments that participate must sign or adopt an expression of commitment to undertake the milestones and accomplish program tasks.
While local governments can engage in climate protection activity on their own, the training, technical assistance, tools, publications and global municipal partners all represent opportunities typical municipalities would not have if operating without the support of the CCP or other network.
CONTACT
Nancy Skinner
International Director, ICLEI CCP Campaign
Fax: +1-510/540-4787
Email: nskinner@iclei.org
Website: www.iclei.org
Climate Alliance
Since 1990, more than 1,000 local governments in Europe have committed to climate protection by joining the Climate Alliance. The Climate Alliance is an association of municipalities that have partnered with Amazonian indigenous rainforest people. Both groups have a role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions: European cities by reducing energy and fossil fuel use and indigenous people by protecting the rainforest that serves as a carbon dioxide sink. The Climate Alliance acts as a link between these local-level initiatives and the international policy processes on climate change, biodiversity and forestry. Their efforts are strengthening sustainable development and North-South equity.
European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign
The European Sustainable Cities & Towns Campaign started in 1994 in Aalborg, Denmark. The result of the meeting was the Aalborg Charter, which outlines a commitment to pursue sustainable development at the local level through Local Agenda 21 (LA21) and similar programs. The campaign is supported by an alliance of five organizations; the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, Eurocities, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, the World Federation of United Cities and the World Health Organization's Healthy Cities Project. These partners work to provide training, information and resources and promote sustainable development. The campaign is also promoted through a series of conferences and supported by the Directorate-General Environment of the European Commission.
Presently more than 1,400 European municipalities have committed to sustainable development by signing the Aalborg Charter and joining the campaign. It is currently the largest regional campaign for local sustainable development and LA21 in the world.
