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Local climate protection


Global warming jeopardizes the balance of the whole Earth. Responsibility for this rests with the industrialised countries of the North. It is there that the main causes of climateendangering greenhouse gas emissions lie. But it is there, too, that a will to change course has emerged. Cities and municipalities across Europe have joined the Climate Alliance and get engaged in local climate change policies. The indigenous rainforest peoples are their partners in this endeavour, as preserving the rainforests safeguards the natural resource base on which these peoples' lives depend, and is at the same time active climate protection.

The member cities and municipalities of the Climate Alliance have commited on a voluntary basis to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:


The Climate Alliance target 
The members of the Climate Alliance commit themselves to a continual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The target is the reduction of CO2 emissions by ten percent every five years. The important milestone of halving per capita emissions (reference year 1990) should be achieved by 2030 at the latest.In the long term, Climate Alliance cities and municipalities aim to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to a sustainable level of 2.5 tonnes CO2 equivalent per inhabitant and per year by implementing energy-saving and energy-efficiency measures and by using renewable energies. This target requires collaboration at all levels of decision-making (EU, nation states, regions, communities), as it cannot be achieved on the basis of decisions taken at community level alone. Climate Alliance members will report back regularly on their efforts to implement climate protection measures. 

The Climate Alliance CO2 emissions reduction target,  pdf-file 120 KB

 

More than 1400 European local authorities of 17 countries have joined the Climate Alliance since its formation in1990! They represent more than 50 million citizens – every tenth person in the European Union lives in a Climate Alliance member.

The local authorities exchange experiences, lobby the national and international policy levels and work for a sustainable and climate compatible development.

In this section of the Climate Alliance websites you can inform yourself on:

  • Climate change, benefits of local climate policies and how every individual can contribute
  • Fields of action for cities and municipalities
  • Local climate protection: How to start? Recommendations on climate plans, individual measures and monitoring of progress
  • Initiatives and campaigns: an invitation to participate
  • Current Climate Alliance projects

 

Download of the brochure:
“Ciudades in Cambio”, pdf-file, 893 kB
“Comuni in tempi que cambiano”,  pdf-file, 847 kB

 



In the case of the climate change impacts which are already affecting us, climate protection, is for local authorities a voluntary action only from a formal point of view. In reality, it has already become compulsory. If we are serious about the health of our citizens, the economic development and the protection of our shared cultural heritage, then we must take global climate issues into consideration in our daily decisions. For this reason, in European countries, and even in other countries which still resist the Kyoto Protocol, preparedness is growing to tackle this task locally. And the progress of Climate Alliance in the last fifteen years is a concrete example for this.
Joachim Lorenz, Permanent City Councillor for Environment and Health of the City of Munich and President of the Climate Alliance