Hundreds of local government leaders from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico — met to break down barriers and learn what it means to share international boundaries and sustainability goals.
The conference was in the heart of downtown Chicago, one of the most environmentally progressive cities in the U.S. For three days, local government experts will share stories and strategies on how to save money and build more connected, more resilient, and more sustainable communities.
The latest implementation and policy tools will be available. There will be training in the new approaches to developing strategic plans.
Many champions of ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection® Campaign, which currently has 300 North American participants—home to 87 million people will attend and will show how these local governments are collectively reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by 32 million tons.
UK consulates spread message Washington does not hear By Andrew Ward, Financial Times Published: July 17 2006 03:00 | Last updated: July 17 2006 03:00 When Margaret Beckett, the new British foreign secretary, announced last month that promoting international action against climate change would be one of her top priorities, she probably did not have Raleigh, North Carolina, in mind as the best place to start.
Yet, for more than a year, British officials have been quietly engaging with a commission set up by the North Carolina General Assembly to consider how the state should respond to global warming. "We've provided them with British research on climate change and talked about our experience of emissions trading in the EU," says Martin Rickerd, British consul-general in Atlanta.
The North Carolina case is typical of the grassroots diplomacy being conducted by British officials across the US, as London, frustrated by the Bush administration's sceptical attitude towards climate change, searches for allies on the issue outside of Washington.
Britain hopes its work with states, cities and academic institutions in the US will help raise awareness of global warming and increase domestic pressure on the federal government to co-operate with international efforts to tackle the threat.
All seven British consulate-generals in the US are engaged in the push, with Mr Rickerd's Atlanta office responsible for spreading the message in the south-east.
"People think that all consulates-generals do is issue passports and visit prisoners," he says. "But increasingly they are more like mini-embassies, pursuing the same political objectives at the regional level that the embassy pursues at the national level."
Of all the US regions in which to preach the dangers of climate change, the south-east, known for its conservative values and car-loving culture, must be among the most challenging. But it is also the region that has perhaps the most to lose, with thousands of miles of low-lying coastline exposed to rising sea levels and worsening hurricanes.
Instead of confronting climate-change doubters head on, the British strategy has been to forge alliances with those that are sympathetic to its position. For example, the Atlanta office has worked closely with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a North Carolina-based environmental group.
Stephen Smith, executive director of the alliance, says his group joined forces with British officials to persuade southern mayors to sign up to the US Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement, a nationwide coalition committed to action on the issue.
"Having the official stamp of the British government on the message gives it a lot more credibility," says Mr Smith. "The British are providing the science and the leadership on this issue that our own government is not."
Last week the Atlanta consulate-general helped pay for 15 officials from south-eastern cities to attend a conference in Chicago on sustainable development.
Mr Rickerd says one of the aims is to influence state and city leaders who may one day have a role in shaping national policy.
John Ashton, appointed last month as Ms Beckett's special representative on climate change, insists grassroots engagement is not designed to circumvent Washington. "There's lots of constructive conversations we can have with the [Bush] administration," he says. "But thought leaders and opinion formers are scattered very widely around the US so we need to take a multi-channel approach."
Mr Rickerd understands there is a line that must not be crossed between engagement and interference. In North Carolina, for example, he says the British role is limited to providing information rather than lobbying. "It's for them to reach their own decisions," he says.
Mr Smith says British input has been welcomed but warns there is a limit to how much the UK can do. "If their involvement was more widely known there might be some push back against the idea of a foreign government influencing policy," he says. "But most people understand this is a global problem that requires a global solution."
The objectives of Nottingham attending are to -
1. speak to requirement set out by hosts; to show progress of Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change; (probably also need to cite loc. gov’t reform frameworks; public services reform agenda; Presud);
2. support British Gov’t by attending; (at their expense);
3. draw upon lessons of progress from America to apply possible solutions in Nottingham;
4. promote Nottingham;
“Thanks for taking part of our coming ICLEI North American Congress. You are confirmed as taking part in the session Global Commitment Frameworks ... which is taking place on Wednesday July 12th from 3.30 – 5 PM.
Moderator:
- Parin Shah, Director of Urban Environmental Accords Institute
Panelists:
- Kim Drury, City of Seattle
- Councillor Michael Edwards, City of Nottingham, UK
- Melissa Capria, City of San Francisco
BREAKOUT SESSION DESCRIPTION Theme: Connecting the Dots: Getting more for less
Session: Global Commitments Frameworks
Objective - To understand the various framework commitments that local governments can participate in and ICLEI supports. The US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, The Global Compact Cities Program, the Urban Environmental Accords, and the Nottingham Declarations will be highlighted.
Methodology - Each panelist will have around 10 to 15 minutes to highlight the main points of its commitment. Emphasis in what the commitment is and how is being implemented is encouraged. Providing practical examples of the tools and mechanisms used will be important. Following the panelists an interactive and hands on discussion will open.
Various commitment frameworks that local governments can participate in (that ICLEI supports):
· Aalborg Commitments
· Urban Environmental Accords
· MAPES Commitments(Mayors' Asia Pacific Environmental Summit (MAPES) – So I don’t know if we are going to have a speaker from Asia
· US Conference of Mayors Agreement
· CSD Recommendations one of US delegation – from State department)
· Nottingham Declaration in Climate Change
· Melbourne Principles
· Earth Charter
Possible Press Release
Climate change on the agenda for Nottingham delegate in Chicago
International delegates at a North American conference on climate change will hear from Cllr. Michael Edwards, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council in the United Kingdom about his city’s commitment to tackling environmental issues.
Cllr. Edwards will share with other local government leaders from across North America how Nottingham, and other UK cities have joined together in an effort to combat the increasingly damaging effects a changing climate is having on our environment.
From 11-14th July, The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) North American Congress is holding a conference in Chicago, bringing together local government leaders from the US, Canada and Mexico. Over the course of the 3 days, they will discuss ways to tackle the issue of climate change at local government level by breaking down barriers and sharing long term goals.
In 2000 Nottingham City Council launched the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change. To date, more than 150 UK local authorities have signed up to the declaration to voice their commitment to tackling climate change at a local level.
The ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection Campaign currently has 300 North American participants – home to some 87 million people – working together to reduce greenhouse emissions by over 32 million tones. This conference will provide an opportunity for local government authorities from the UK and North America to share ideas and initiatives to address some of the problems affecting our environment.
Nottingham, one of England’s oldest and most traditional cities – well known for the famous outlaw Robin Hood, is fast becoming one of England’s most forward thinking cities when it comes to the environment and climate change. Cllr. Edwards is responsible for finance, performance management and sustainable development in Nottingham. He will be introducing fellow delegates to some of Nottingham’s achievements and success in climate change initiatives over the years.
Cllr. Michael Edwards, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council said: ‘’We are becoming increasingly aware of the impact that climate change is having on our communities during the 21st century and Nottingham City Council is committed to tackling the causes and effects of a changing climate on our city and country. I will be sharing with my fellow delegates Nottingham’s Declaration on Climate Change and I will undoubtedly take away with me new ideas and initiatives that can be applied in a city like Nottingham.’’
Notes to Editors:
- Cllr. Michael Edwards will be in Chicago for the duration of the conference (11th – 14th July)
- Cllr. Edwards will be available for interview. All interviews can be arranged by contacting Cheryl Connolly at: cheryl.connolly@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Key messages on the Nottingham Declaration (2000) and the Nottingham Call (2005) -
- a collection of enthusiastic individuals, given support by a senior officer, provided a lead for other councils to follow;
- the Declaration gives a Council a focus and a structure if they want to be seen to be part of the campaign on the concern;
- the campaign has taken on new life by the Council engaging other partners;
- the British Gov’t (and the European parliament) has played a key role in driving up minimum standards and providing resources to advertise the concerns and promote activities - there’s a reason why we try to win national elections;
- currently, there is a new national mood to do more;
- but a local authority’s local priorities means that climate change & environmental work often needs to be progressed by embedding it in the ways of working;
- public service reforms and performance mgmt frameworks, as well as providing the capability, capacity and culture are fundamental to making a “ways of working” approach work;
Possible structure for a presentation -
02. Tales of Robin Hood; still have Sheriff of Nottingham, but these days, we’re against outlaws; key sustainable development priority social mix; means better education and lower crime (“Respect for Nottingham”); great shopping and night life supported by public transport; “Cities are Good for Us”
03. best public transport planning in the UK (and Europe?); best bus fleet; best tram; high use of smart cards;
04. public transport came through political will - refused inner-city motorways in the 60s; tried constraint in the 70’s (and failed); kept the bus company in public ownership in the 80’s; adopted New Labour Govt’s integrated transport polices in 90’s including plans for Workplace Parking Levy;
05. other green achievements - incl. more recycling, home insulation, green energy, green partnerships; and Nottingham in Bloom; (expand)
06. Science City - developed economies require value added commerce - trying to exploit our knowledge of sustainable development technologies;
07. trying to get environmental concerns into our ways of working; but need effective delivery - hence inspection of local gov’t and national framework of minimum expectations; and reform of public sector; benefits of mutual inspection - including across Europe - Presud;
08. Launched Nottingham Declaration; key pledges; more than 150 signatories;
09. Refresh - Nottingham Call - key commitments; next - update our climate change strategy and give it some drama; learn from others;
10. Climate Change getting a high political profile; but is not public’s priority and did lose fuel strike (fuel dependency); Gov’t is trying to change behaviours; Tony Blair has given profile at G8; remember where Blair differs from Bush - Israel / Palestine; aid; climate change; Ryder Cup (!)
11. Climate Change and env. achievements - incl. Climate Change Levy (expand), Air Quality, cleanest beaches and rivers since 19th century;
12. Blair’s key achievement - in the face of a powerful right-wing press and unaccountable institutions, to fashion a style of left of centre politics that can win elections and allow differences to be made every day in the decisions we take.
Fuller notes - based on text from four page briefing I’m taking to conference
The Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change
A briefing paper for the Thriving Communities conference
11– 14th July 2006, Chicago
Councillor Michael Edwards
Deputy Leader, Nottingham City Council
Nottingham
• Historic English city in East Midlands
• Industrial heritage (lace, manufacturing, coal)
• Compact city 280,000
• Large conurbation 600,000
• 1 of 8 main cities outside London
• Rapid economic growth in recent years in universities, retail, leisure/culture, financial services, but major social problems persist
Nottingham City Council
• Provides all local government services
• 55 city councillors, 14,000 staff
• $1.5bn budget
• Executive Board of 9 councillors chaired by Leader
• Deputy Leader responsible for sustainable development and climate change
Tales of Robin Hood
Our famous outlaw is known around the world. We still have the remnants of a Castle (now a municipal art gallery and museum) and a Sheriff of Nottingham, but these days we’re against outlaws.
Our key sustainable development priority is achieving a more balanced social mix, providing better education and lower crime (Respect for Nottingham initiative); with schools, shops, night life and other high quality services easily accessible by public transport, walking or cycling; a strong belief in the “Cities are Good for Us” concept.
Our Green Credentials - example
Integrated sustainable transport is a key strength and a longstanding political priority for the Council:
1960s - refused inner-city motorways
1970s - tried traffic constraint and failed
1980s - kept the bus company in public ownership
1990s - adopted New Labour Government’s integrated transport polices (including plans for a Workplace Parking Levy)
Outcomes
• Best transport planning in the UK
• Best bus fleet and tram system
• High use of smart cards
• Congestion and CO2 stabilised
Climate Change & Local Government
The UK woke up to the reality of climate change in November 2000 with the worst floods for over 50 years.
This marked the beginning of mainstream coverage by the media, which has continued ever since.
A few days before the rain started, Nottingham City Council hosted the first big national conference for local government leaders on climate change 24/25th October 2000.
To provide profile at the event and secure some ongoing high level commitment, a joint public statement from the political leader and the chief executive of a council was devised, called the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change, with key pledges to take action, links to the Government’s UK Climate Change Programme and an endorsement by a Government minister.
A small number of councils took up the challenge and became signatories, using the ceremony as a promotional opportunity.
Some new guidance for councils on climate change was developed and some basic monitoring put in place. The UK Government also funded a pilot project to enable some 20 councils to join ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection programme.
The number of signatories grew slowly but steadily and reached 100, five years after the original launch.
Some national surveys were conducted periodically to try to understand what was going on in local government on this agenda, but information about the progress of individual councils and the collective impact proved illusive.
To help review progress and give the Declaration a further boost, Nottingham City Council drew together the six key national agencies, together with ICLEI and hosted a further large conference on 5th December 2005. There was an enthusiastic response from all concerned and the Nottingham Declaration Development Group was formed to drive forward new promotional activity and much improved support and monitoring.
A revised version of the Nottingham Declaration was launched at the conference, following consultation with existing signatories. It is broadly similar to its predecessor, with some increased emphasis on the adaptation agenda and a further endorsement from the Government department responsible for local government.
Nottingham City Council and Bath and North East Somerset Council were the 1st and 100thsignatories.
Key commitments include developing plan(s) to tackle climate change within two years of signing and monitoring and reporting on the results.
To generate new momentum and commitment, the Nottingham Call was agreed at the same conference. This calls upon local government to redouble its efforts and upon other key sectors to lend their support.
The Nottingham Call was also designed to reflect the UK local government performance framework that has evolved in recent years by providing ambition, resources, methodology and monitoring.
Around 150 UK councils have now signed up (about 1/3 of the total), thanks to the combined efforts of the partner organisations and the increasing recognition of the Nottingham Declaration as a brand in its own right. A combination of drama, momentum, peer pressure, media promotion and improving support are helping to galvanise local government in the UKto make a commitment and act upon it.
A new Nottingham Declaration Action Pack is being launched on 18th July in Westminster at an event hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change. This will be followed up by a series of regional workshops around the country:
all part of the Target 200 Campaign to encourage more councils to make a public commitment and to double the number of signatories within a year from 100 to 200.
There are 5 steps -
1. Getting Started
2. Assess current and likely future situation
3. Develop Strategic Approach
4. Prepare an Action Plan
5. Implementation
Three elements for each stage -
a) Manage own Estate
b) Service Provider
c) Community Leader
And for each element and stage, need to consider mitigating Climate Change and Adapting to Climate Change.
The five project steps are in the context of the three key roles of local government and the mitigation and adaptation strands of the climate change agenda and mirror the ICLEI CCP (Cities for Climate Protection) five milestones, to ensure some consistency with other CCP councils and frameworks around the world.
Part of the momentum behind the recent process has been the UK Government’s own lead on climate change through the G8 and EU. Many councils are keen to support the Government and to develop the leadership role of local government in tackling climate change at the local level.
Domestically, the Government acknowledges the vital role of local authorities in its UK Climate Change Programme and lists the Nottingham Declaration as an example of local government leadership.
On 12th June Tony Blair announced that the public sector should take a lead in going carbon neutral and that Government will achieve this for its office estate by 2012 and reduce total CO2 emissions by 30%.
More Information
Nottingham Declaration, current list of signatories and the forthcoming Action Pack (18th July) are all hosted by the Energy Saving Trust at:
www.nottinghamdeclaration.co.uk
Archive material about the Second National Councils’ Climate Conference, 5th December 2005 in Nottingham is hosted by ICLEI at
www.nottingham2005.org
Contact Details
Cllr Michael Edwards
Deputy Leader, Nottingham City Council
Email: michael.edwards@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Council Website: www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk
Personal Website: www.michaeledwards.labour.co.uk
Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change
Monitoring and Reporting
Nottingham City Council and eight other city councils worked together on a 3 year EU-funded project (PRESUD) to develop a sustainable development peer review process for European local government. One of the outcomes of this was to look for ways to apply the experience more widely and for Nottingham City Council, this was to revise the Nottingham Declaration and launch the Nottingham Call, to help broaden and deepen UK local government’s commitment to tackle climate change and inject some momentum into the process.
The new guidance about to be launched in the online Action Pack makes it possible for Councils to report on the progress they are making through the milestone process and also on the outcomes achieved, eg. on CO2 emissions reduction – although the specific mechanism for doing this won’t be launched until April 2007, as there is still a lot of development work to do beforehand.
The inspiration for this comes from two sources:
· ICLEI’s CCP (Cities for Climate Protection) campaign in Australia, which has a well developed web-based reporting process for milestone progression http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=2291
· ICLEI HEAT (Harmonised Emissions Analysis Tool) which has been developed by ICLEI in the US to enable reporting of CO2 (and other pollutants) online for a small number of countries using funding from USAID. Each participating council has its own inventory of corporate and community emissions and can use the tool to develop targets, actions and track its own progress. Because it works from a single database on a web server in the States, ICLEI can easily report upon the collective impact made by all participating CCP councils around the world – or rather will be able to once the tool has been adapted for each country, which has cost implications. ICLEI’s European office is currently looking for ways of funding this for Europe and the UK. http://www.iclei.org/documents/Global/Progams/CCP/HEAT_Brochure_final.pdf
The Energy Saving Trust are the hosts of the Nottingham Declaration Action Pack and are currently of the view that the simplest way of monitoring will be for each council to devote a web page on its own website to this purpose and that the NDAP website will have a link to all of the signatory council pages accordingly. The onus will be on each Council to report on their progress by a particular date. I am advocating the notion of turning this into an annual web-based event (drawing on the Eurovision song contest idea) to make it more engaging and less laborious.
DEFRA and DTI are intending to bring in some kind of compulsory reporting arrangement after 2008, but are watching this process with interest to see if this can be a model.
There are further questions about assessing the quality of council progress, particularly where adaptation is concerned, as this is less quantitative than CO2 monitoring. The Nottingham Declaration Development Group are also planning to introduce a climate benchmark for councils and a range of options for getting some external appraisal and support – including a PRESUD-light style peer review.
Some previous stuff is available on-line -
I am portfolio holder for sustainable development, for which Nottingham has a strong reputation, particularly for its radical policies in public transport, but also for the lead to local government provided on tackling climate change by the Nottingham Declaration and now the Nottingham call. Our overall approach is based around the philosophy of "Cities are Good for us". Presentations are available on -
the Nottingham Call;
the Green Festival, at which I hold a stall;
Presud, the European initiative to develop best practice on sustainable development; and findings from an inspection of The Hague;
Labour's environmental achievements
… have been considerable –
· Climate Change - Kyoto Protocol was ratified by the EU on 31 May 2002 which means that for the UK we have made a legally binding commitment to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to 12.5% below 1990 levels by the period 2008-12 – the UK played a key role in Bonn (July 2001) and Marrakech (November 2001) in securing global agreement to legally binding text. UK Emissions Trading Scheme – the UK launched the world’s first economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in April 2002. British industry reduced their annual greenhouse gas emissions by more than 13.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide last year. The UK Climate Change Programme policies could allow the UK to reduce emissions of 6 greenhouse gases by 23% by 2010 as well as aid our domestic goal to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2010 and help us to provide 10% of the UK’s electricity from renewable resources of energy by 2010. The UK Climate Change Levy will help to fund measures to promote better energy efficiency in business.
· Air Quality - Number of days of moderate/higher air pollution in urban areas fallen by two thirds since 1996 - currently best since records began.
· Beaches and Rivers – cleanest since the 19th Century.
· Water Resources - Leakage reduced by a third since the ’97 election; 12% cut in 2000-2001 water bills (equal to £30 saving per household) and increased investment in sewage treatment and water quality.
· Fuel Poverty - Home insulation grants increased from £315 to £2,000. Since 1997 over 600,000 have benefited from new insulation schemes.
· Energy - Increased support for combined heat and power and renewable energy; cut VAT on energy saving materials from 17.5% to 5%.
[DRAFT; last updated 2006-07-23]
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