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Good Practice Information Service
Questions and Answers
Con'd with links to:
- Cities for Climate Protection, under the auspices of the International
Council for Local Environmental Initiatives
- World Business Council for Sustainable Development and International
Chamber of Commerce
- The Climate Action Network
- Cities for Climate Protection, under
the auspices of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives
ICLEI is the international environmental agency for local governments
whose mission is to build and serve a worldwide movement of local governments
to achieve tangible improvements in global environmental and sustainable development
conditions through cumulative local actions. More than 350 cities, towns, counties,
and their associations from around the world are full Members of the Council and
there are hundreds of additional local governments participating in specific ICLEI
campaigns and projects.
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A strong interest in climate change exists at the local government
level internationally given the connection between local environmental threats
and climate change. Although climate change is a global phenomenon, the solutions
aimed at protecting the climate begin at the local level. This is evidenced
by the 182 local governments which have joined, since 1993, the Cities
for Climate Protection (CCP) under the auspices of International Council for
Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) . The CCP seeks:
to slow down the earth’s warming trend;
to improve local air quality and urban liveability;
by empowering local governments to reduce urban greenhouse gas
emissions.
While the UNFCCC is an international compact of nation states and
does not provide a formal role for sub-national governments in implementing the
compact, the local governments that joined the CCP together have a jurisdiction
that accounts for close to 5% of total global CO2 emissions. Further, many hundreds
of other local governments that have not joined the CCP, such as Europe’s Climate
Alliance and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities 20% Club, are committed
to similar goals.
Local governments are strategically placed as they often control
the levers of authority necessary to change energy consumption pattern. Further,
urban planning which deals with density mixture, and physical layout of residential
and commercial neighbourhoods, profoundly influences local energy consumption
patterns. Land use patterns and other factors that influence such patterns typically
fall directly under local government control. Thus, in view of the worldwide trend
toward devolution of central authority to local government, a trend that is accelerating
in the developing world in tandem with rapid urbanisation, will likely bolster
the role of local government
in protecting the environment.
In 1997, 145 local governments from 29 nations pledged:
“We, the representatives of local governments world-wide,
are convinced that local governments are an effective vehicle to help achieve
national greenhouse gas reduction goals and that close partnerships with our national
governments will enhance our collective efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;…We
pledge to make maximum efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the local
level…to extend our full support to our national governments and to the ICLEI’s
CCP campaign, which will seek to….3.4. Promote local educational initiatives and
organisations to enhance public understanding of climate change, thereby improving
acceptance of national government measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions….3.6.
Significantly expand the CCP campaign in developing countries.” (Nagoya
Declaration)
ICLEI reviewed
10 case studies of cities that have embarked on the CCP of which five were
from the developed and five from developing nations. Among the areas reviewed
were the public awareness initiatives the cities have undertaken. Among the lessons
learned are the following: that placing a high priority on promoting public education
and awareness have paid off because they are contributing to the success of energy
efficiency retrofit initiatives, as well as other environmental programs.
Among the promotional approaches that worked well were: advertising that makes
energy a "user friendly" topic for the general public, by for instance containing
humour content; municipally sponsored neighbourhood, street level information
centres, where the public can easily "shop around" for energy efficient products
and services for the home; surveys that give the public an opportunity to express
visual preferences for different land use options; and on-going consultation with
the community and stakeholders is necessary to build up support and changes in
behaviour over time.
- World Business Council for Sustainable
Development and International Chamber of Commerce
Among the actors present at the UNFCCC meetings representing the
business community are the World Business Council for Sustainable Development
(WBCSD) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) .
The WBCSD is a coalition 150
international companies, drawn from 30 countries and more than 20 major industrial
sectors, united by a shared commitment to sustainable development. It has a network
of national and regional business councils and partner organisations. Existing
since January 1995 as a merger between the Business Council for Sustainable Development
(BCSD) and the World Industry Council for the Environment (WICE). The two
parent bodies had been at the forefront of business's response to the challenges
arising from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
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The WBCSD has indicated that one key element of their agenda
“is to raise awareness among governments and society of what
business is doing. Another is to work in partnership with others – government,
civil society and the other key stakeholders. Our mission is no less than to make
the business case for sustainable development – including, and increasingly in
the developing world.”
Among its achievements is developing the concept of "Eco-efficiency”
which is at the heart of its philosophy. To become eco-efficient a company should
strive to: reduce the material intensity of its goods and services; reduce the
energy intensity of its goods and services; reduce the dispersion of any toxic
materials; enhance the recyclability of its materials; maximise the sustainable
use of renewable resources; extend the durability of its products; increase the
service intensity of its goods and services
In 1998, the WBCSD and the European Partners for the Environment,
with support from the European Commission Directorate-General III for Industry,
launched a European Eco-Efficiency Initiative (EEEI). The model upon which
it is based is one of a multi-stakeholder agenda, where key stakeholders together
find effective ways of making progress toward sustainable development, by demonstrating
that micro changes can and do have an effect at the macro level. The initiative
aimed to promote, extend and apply eco-efficiency. Its implementation has created
an effective network to disseminate the philosophy/concept to both the business
community and to policy makers. By 1999 the OECD, together with the Australian
government organised a conference in Sydney, which included presentations of case
studies from Canada and Holland.
The EEEI partners have case studies to demonstrate that eco-efficiency
works and have developed indicators to measure and report eco-efficiency.
The EEEI aims to contribute to the Earth Summit III 2002 through developing indicators
used by companies, establishing indicators for governments and launching a voluntary
commitment to report progress on eco-efficiency. The EEEI is working to achieve
a critical mass by:
a) Building a network of multipliers across Europe;
b) Engaging key stakeholders;
c) Liasing with policy makers;
d) Communicating on the Internet;
e) Expanding the business case from success stories to overall
performance;
f) Working along consumption clusters.
Evaluating the initiative in 1999, it was found that among the
barriers hindering progress was a lack of knowledge, for example, of the possibilities
for installing energy saving devices in office buildings.
The WBCSD is working with its member companies on various areas
such as models to help see the new long-term threats and opportunities presented
to business and changes needed to make sustainability a matter of course.
The ICC, founded in 1919, with membership from over 130
countries, is a world business organisation, that speaks on behalf of enterprises
from all sectors in every part of the world. It promotes open international trade
and investment system and the market economy. Its conviction is that trade is
a powerful force for peace and prosperity. Its member companies and associations
are engaged in international business, ICC makes voluntary rules that govern the
conduct of business across borders. ICC provides services such as ICC International
Court of Arbitration.
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The International Chamber of Commerce issued a policy statement
on its commitment to Sustainable Development in April 1997. A section deals with
partnerships with other sectors of society. Specifically:
“All sectors of society, including government, business,
public interest groups and consumers, have a role to play in contributing to sustainable
development, and they must work in partnership, bringing their values and experience
to bear on the challenge. Sustainable development will only be achieved if each
one plays its part. Each sector should focus on what it can do best, but, through
partnerships, local, national or even global, we can build on the strengths of
each group.”
The ICC policy statement suggests that government has a role to
play in facilitating these partnerships by using open and constructive dialogue
with all stakeholders. Further, “Public interest groups, as agents of collective
values, are important contributors to sustainable development. Individuals must
also be included. As consumers it is crucial that they be made aware of how they
can contribute to sustainable development in their daily lives.”
It perceives that “Each partner's contribution to sustainable
development should reflect that partner's capacity. Business is best suited to
contributing to sustainable development in the economic sphere - through the creation
of wealth in an environmentally sound manner. Government, on the other hand, is
best suited to contributing to sustainable development in the social sphere -
through the provision of education, infrastructure and public services and through
the sound regulation and administration of the protection of the environment and
the economic system”
In keeping with this policy, the ICC has worked with UNEP and
ECOTEC to develop a conceptual framework for Voluntary Initiatives (VIs) .
VIs address particular environmental concerns. They may include:
a) Unilateral commitments such as responsible care
programmes and codes of conduct;
b) Self declarations and commitments;
c) Voluntary environmental reporting;
d) Voluntary implementation and registration with environmental
management and audit systems;
e) Technology support programmes;
f) Eco-labelling;
g) Generic public voluntary programmes.
h) Environmental agreements negotiated between industry and
governments (central, regional or local) and in some cases between industry and
NGOs.
The key value of the VI instrument is found in its ability to build
on the particular knowledge of each stakeholder, of their capacity to address
environmental challenges and the possible widespread internal adoption of a pro-active
environmental culture.
- The Climate Action Network
The Climate Action Network
(CAN) is a “global network of over 287 NGOs working to promote government
and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable
levels. CAN members work to achieve this goal through the co-ordination of information
exchange and an NGO strategy on international, regional and national climate issues.
CAN has seven regional offices which co-ordinate these efforts in Africa, South
Asia, South East Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, Europe, and
the United States.”
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CAN has been particularly active to address issues of public
awareness and public participation at COP negotiations. CAN position papers at
COP5 and COP6 addressed these issues in reference respectively towards the
UNEP's proposed Climate Awareness Program (CAP) and to the UNFCCC's proposed Clean
Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation.
Their position regarding the CAP was founded upon the belief
that Governments alone cannot solve the problems posed by climate change. Raising
awareness is the key to ensure that the public plays an active role in addressing
climate change. In order to establish the sustainability of policies and measures,
in both Annex I and Non-Annex I countries, public participation is needed.
Further, public participation is a matter of the right of the public and public
interest groups to have timely access to relevant information and to participate
in and influence environmental decision-making (ECO
5, June 14, 2000).
CAN’s efforts, in tangent with those of the business
and local government communities, exemplify a shift towards shared responsibility
and towards a new paradigm through which stakeholders jointly establish the solutions
to environmental problems/issues.
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