December

Martin Chávez Discusses Sustainability With Chinese Delegation

ICLEI USA Executive Director Martin Chávez and Yuan Xikum, a member of the
Standing Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing’s
Chaoyang District

On the heels of the COP16 Summit in Cancún, ICLEI USA Executive Director Martin Chávez met with a delegation from China to discuss how Chinese provinces can improve their cooperation on sustainability and climate action.

The Chinese delegation was led by Yuan Xikum, a member of the Standing Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing’s Chaoyang District. Yuan met with Chávez to discuss avenues of increased cooperation on the development of effective methods to improve environmental quality in several Chinese regions, including Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province, and Beijing’s Chaoyang District.  The meeting was one of several by Chinese officials with heads of nongovernmental organizations and leading public figures in the United States over the past two weeks.

In Cancún, Local Governments Achieve a Long-Sought Goal

Local governments scored a major victory in Cancún. At the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP16), the annual global climate conference, local governments were officially recognized for the first time by the international community as governmental stakeholders, following years of ICLEI’s sustained advocacy work.

ICLEI’s efforts in the international arena also yielded another result: Localities were included throughout in the text known as the “Cancún Agreements,” which many hope represents the basis of the next global climate deal. ICLEI USA applauds the gains made by the international community this month in Cancún and the recognition of the role of local actions in achieving a global solution.

How to Launch Your Own Green Business Challenge, Step by Step

For more than a year now, ICLEI has been fielding the same question from local government staff across the country: How can my community launch a Green Business Challenge of its own?

We now have an easy answer. The new Green Business Challenge Guidebook offers step-by-step instructions on how to develop and launch a customized version of this wildly popular program.

What Is the Green Business Challenge?

The Green Business Challenge is a friendly competition that engages commercial property managers, office tenants, and other business sectors to reduce their energy, waste, and water use while participating in other sustainable business practices. The program helps local governments engage their commercial sectors to help meet their energy, climate and sustainability goals. On the flipside, it allows businesses to get community recognition for their green efforts.

Local Action Roundup

• Ann Arbor Officials Working to Launch First PACE Program in Michigan Under New State Law (AnnArbor.com)
  
• In Detroit, MI, Greening Sewers Saves Environment, Money (Great Lakes Echo)
  
• Metro Considers Biogas Plant For Northeast Portland, OR (OPB News)
  
• Santa Rosa, CA, Considers Scaled-Down Bike Boulevard (Press Democrat)
  
• A Closer Look at Job Centers and Transit in Los Angeles County, CA, Including Century City (The Source)
  
• Boston, MA, One of Five Cities Selected Chosen by US EPA Under Greening America Capital Cities Program (City of Boston)

Local Action Roundup

• Merced County, CA, Gets a Pep Talk and Money to Create Jobs, Attract Businesses (Merced Sun-Star)
  
• EPA recognizes Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) for its Energy Efficient Headquarters  (EPA)
  
• Federal Appeals Court Upholds San Joaquin, CA, APCD Fee (Envionmental Leader)
  
• Wenatchee, Quincy, WA, Schools to Save Energy (Wenatchee World)
  
• In Santa Cruz, CA, Ecology Action’s $33M Green Energy Bonanza (SantaCruz.com)
  
• City of Monterey, CA, Purchases 100% Renewable Power (City of Monterey)
  
• Officials Commemorate Construction Start of Solar Carports on Long Island, NY (The Solar Home & Business Journal)
  
• Portland, OR, Bucks National Trend: Clean Energy Works Helping Reduce Local Carbon Emissions, Create Jobs (Green for All)
  

Martin Chávez at COP16: We're Going to Get It Done

Where was the real climate action in Cancún? Between local governments and entrepreneurs in the private sector. So said ICLEI USA's Executive Director Martin Chávez during an interview with Hub Culture Carbon Analyst David Kroodsma at the World Climate Summit in Cancún during COP16. Watch the video for Marty's take on why market-based solutions will solve our climate challenges, coupled with the pragmatism and can-do outlook of local elected officials: "We recognize that it's not happening at the national level, and we're going to get it done."

An Update From Cancun

Patrick Hays, Mayor of North Little Rock and Board President of ICLEI USA, speaking at the Business Council & Sustainable Energy

COP16 in Cancun is turning out to be a relatively quiet meeting to shape the next global climate deal. Yet local governments are being anything but quiet, and ICLEI is playing a primary role in amplifying their voices.

ICLEI USA's Priorities at COP16

To advocate on behalf of local governments, ICLEI USA sent a delegation of local elected officials to the climate talks at COP16 to ensure that local governments are recognized and empowered in the next global climate treaty.  ICLEI USA Board of Directors President Mayor Patrick Hays said from the talks, “Since cities and communities remain on the front lines of climate change, we must have a strong presence in Cancun to ensure the establishment and recognition of a clear and defined key role for local governments to exercise during these international climate negotiations.”

Reporting from Cancún: As Climate Talks Continue, Local Governments Move Ahead with Concrete Actions

First published on National Geographic's The Great Energy Challenge Blog.

As the slow-moving conference on climate change gets underway in Cancún, the 193 nations present at the talks don’t seem to agree on much of anything. There is little hope that China and the United States will get past their differences on transparency reporting and other key sticking points, which made the Copenhagen agreements difficult to sustain.

An altogether different scenario is getting underway on the local level.  Mayors and local government representatives who are on the front line of the planet’s fight against a changing climate don’t have the luxury of time; they are moving forward with concrete climate actions with the understanding that there is simply no time to waste.

Local Action Roundup

• State Initiatives Help Traverse City Plan for Going Green (Traverse City Record Eagle)
  
• Kansas City, MO, Designated an "International Eco-Safety City" (City of Kansas, MO)
  
• Harford County, MD, to Host Green Business Networking Session (The Dagger)
  
• Portland, OR, Reduces Carbon Emissions, Bucking the National Trend (The Portlander)
  
• Seminole City, FL, OKs Energy-Efficient Upgrades (Seminole Beacon)
  
• Clackamas County, OR, Launches Weatherization Subsidies (Oregon City News)
  
• Rx for Hampton, VA, Roads: Deal with Sea Level Rise Now (Pilot Online)
• Program to Help California's Central Valley Cities Address Climate Change (UC Merced)

2010 Energy Codes Campaign Update: What Your Votes Achieved in Charlotte

IECC Final Action Hearings, Charlotte, NC.

As we approach the holidays, we wanted to take time and reflect on what we at ICLEI USA are thankful for. Amidst the turbulence of the world today, it is tremendously heartening to witness committed individuals take action on a cause they care about. There were few better examples of that this year than the events of late October, when hundreds of local officials arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina to shape the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) which affects how much energy our homes and buildings consume.

Thanks to the persistence and dedication of these individuals, including 105 that ICLEI was honored to support with information, guidance and travel scholarships, the residential component of the 2012 IECC is on average 30% more efficient than the 2006 IECC, fully reflecting the goals of the 30 Percent Solution 2012.