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UN Urban
Environmental Accords Adoption
In July 2007, the
City of Monterey solidified its support for a
sustainable and healthy community by signing the
Urban Environmental Accords which offer 21
actions across seven focus areas that are
ecologically sustainable, economically dynamic,
and socially equitable. Salinas, Pacific Grove
and Marina also have signed the Environmental
Accords.
Recognizing that
the majority of
the world’s population now reside in cities and
that cities consume 75% of the world’s natural
resources, mayors from all over the world came
to San Francisco on June 1-5, 2005, to share
ideas and discuss solutions to universal urban
environmental issues on energy, waste reduction,
urban design, urban nature, transportation,
environmental health, and water. For the United Nations' World Environment Day,
the theme "Green Cities" was selected and the Urban
Environmental Accords - a set of 21 action steps
that intends to address the special
environmental challenges and opportunities of
cities everywhere - were developed. Given the
unique capacity of mayors to initiate and steer
initiatives that produce immediate and direct
outcomes, mayors are recognized as excellent
change agents for making urban communities into
models of sustainable development.
The Urban Environmental
Accords are a series of implementable goals that
can be adopted at the city level to achieve
urban sustainability, promote healthy economies,
advance social equity and protect the world’s
ecosystem. By achieving success at the city
level, the multilateral city commitments of the
Urban Environmental Accords can inspire and
mobilize expanded commitment at the national
level. The Urban Environmental Accords build on
and continue the legacy of the 1972 Stockholm
Conference on the Human Environment, the 1992
Rio Earth Summit, the 1996 Istanbul Conference
on Human Settlements, the 2000 Millennium
Development Goals and the 2002 Johannesburg
World Summit on Sustainable Development
The
signing of this agreement represents a turning
point for the City of
Monterey, one which brings environmental planning to the forefront of City efforts. Achievements to date
include energy efficiency and water conservation upgrades at major
facilities, a city-wide recycling outreach campaign, passage of a Green
Building Ordinance, an
integrated pest management system, banning
expanded polystyrene foam, B20 biodiesel
for the City fleet and
fire trucks, and much more.
For more information, please use
the links below:
United Nations
Urban Environmental Accords |
