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TO: |
Mayor and Town Council |
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FROM: |
Jim Ward, Council Member |
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SUBJECT: |
Update on the 2006 International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) North American Congress |
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DATE: |
November 6, 2006 |
This memorandum provides a brief list of information gathered at the 2006 International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) North American Congress, which was held this July in Chicago. Additional information will be presented at the November 6, 2006 Council meeting.
ICLEI was founded in 1990 as an international association of local governments and national and regional local government organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. ICLEI membership is comprised of more than 475 cities, towns, counties, and their associations worldwide. The organization promotes performance-based, results-oriented campaigns and programs, such as the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Campaign, which enlists cities to adopt policies and implement measures to achieve quantifiable reductions in local greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and enhance urban livability and sustainability.
The Town joined ICLEI in March 2001. In 2005, the Towns of Carrboro and Hillsborough and Orange County joined Chapel Hill in its participation in the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign. The first step in the program, to develop a county-wide inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, will be complete this fall. ICLEI Energy Services has been contracted to conduct this work.
ICLEI held its North American Congress in Chicago in July 2006. During my participation in a panel discussion, Effective Land Use and Transportation Decision Making, I spoke on the Town’s role in the implementation of fare free transit and the reduction in automobile trips and greenhouse gas emissions that may be attributed to this policy.
The following highlights of the conference proceedings will be discussed at the November 6, 2006 Council meeting:
· US energy consumption and the goal of Architecture 2030
· Green economic development
· The Chicago Climate Exchange
· Greenhouse gas emissions in the Southeastern US
· Fare Free Transit and greenhouse gas emissions in Chapel Hill
· Local government case studies: Medford, Massachusetts and Santa Monica , California.
I hope that you will find this information useful as we move forward with the Town’s sustainability and Community Carbon Reduction (CRed) goals.