| |
Urban Environmental Accords
On November 1, 2005, San José’s
City Council signed on to the Urban Environmental
Accords, a declaration of participating city governments to
build ecologically sustainable, economically dynamic, and
socially equitable futures for their urban citizens.
For the first time in human history, more people live in
urban areas than in rural areas. Because urbanites consume
75% of the world’s resources while producing 75% of
humanity’s waste, cities have great potential to reduce
their environmental impacts. Encompassing 21
Actions in seven different areas such as water, energy,
and waste, the Accords offer San José a great opportunity
to improve the quality of life for its citizens and preserve
San José’s environment and resources.
The Resolution
To date, 100 cities worldwide have signed on to the Accords
including 23 in North America and 12 in California. San José
recently received a commendation for being among the first
100 cities to sign the Accords.
On October 5, San José Mayor Chuck Reed introduced his Green Vision for the City of San José. With goals for energy conservation, renewable energy, greenhouse gas reductions, green building, zero waste, green growth, and urban nature, the Green Vision has many synergies with the Urban Accords. The deadline for achieving the majority of the Accords is 2012 so they represent an effective roadmap for the first five years of the Green Vision implementation.
While some Actions require work over several decades, such
as achieving zero waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,
the UN’s goal is to complete most Actions by UN Environment
Day, 2012.
In San José, many of the Actions are on-going or already
underway, such as energy conservation, green building, creating
eco-jobs in low-income areas, and water conservation. The
Environmental Services Department is in the process of evaluating
the Accords to determine which additional Actions to pursue
and a timeframe for their completion.
For more information on the Department's participation in
the Accords, contact:
Urban Environmental Accords Coordinator
Environmental Services Department
City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara Street, Tenth Floor
San José, CA 95113-1905
408.975.2577
|
