CitiesGoGreen -September 2008 - (Page 27) ICLEI: The Fundamentals Who is ICLEI? What is ICLEI? What does ICLEI do? Here’s a rundown. Special Report ICLEI is a global association of organizations, each a not-for-profit in its country. Altogether there nearly 1,000 local government members, representing over 300 million people. ICLEI–Local Governments for Sustainability USA, has some 450 city and county members across the country. The rate of growth is increasing sharply, with new members joining daily as the reality of climate change sinks in and as it becomes clear to more people that local action is essential to solving the problem. ICLEI members include small, rural towns, suburban counties and large cities. Members consistently rank among the “greenest cities,” and because of their commitment and focus are frequently innovators and pacesetters in 49 states. Membership is available to any size community with any level of resources. Even if climate change action is a part time commitment for one person, that person can produce real results with the expertise, tools and support of the organization. Chicago and New York City are among the larger members. What is ICLEI about? The ICLEI-USA mission is not only to help member jurisdictions cut greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050, but to create a cooperative movement of local governments working toward that goal to make it increasingly feasible. In addition, local sustainability is one of the logical and desirable outcomes of reducing GHG emissions, and is specifically a goal of ICLEI as well. A range of activities contribute to those ends. In addition to the tools and benchmarks provided, direct member support comes through staff experts and the relationships between members and designated ICLEI staff. Regional support centers provide local expertise and contact. The Milestone achievements and innovations of its members are celebrated, such as at the annual “Climate Oscars,” which are awarded by jury selection from entries to the Climate Innovation Invitational. Members are also presented to the media, raising the visibility of the member government while developing recognition of climate change work (and of ICLEI). Finally, an important goal is to collect and focus the influence of local governments to increase their influence on national and international sustainability negotiations and policy. What do ICLEI members receive? ICLEI-USA members receive a range of benefits reflecting its activities, including: • Regional offices with designated staff for member support, such as tailored trainings and technical, policy and communications expertise and assistance. • Web-based trainings, on-call technical assistance and the Clean Air Climate Protection (CACP) Software, a tool developed over more than a decade for quantifying current and projected local emissions. • Case studies, best practices, tool kits, templates, and customizable presentation materials. • Performance-based campaigns and initiatives for setting benchmarks, tracking and achieving goals. • State, regional, national and international peer networking: direct access to the global network of local governments engaged in implementing climate protection and sustainability initiatives. • Invitations to exclusive regional, national and international training and leadership events. • Recognition for achievements in the press and in the organization, through outreach, awards, communications, and media efforts, to celebrate progress and inspire others. • International representation at toplevel meetings through ICLEI’s official role as local government representative at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and as Local Government Major Group Coordinator at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. Origins and organization ICLEI was established in 1990 when more than 200 local governments from 43 countries convened at the inaugural conference of the World Congress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future, at the United Nations in New York. Today the organization includes 13 offices on 6 continents and represents a global network of more than 1000 local governments. ICLEI-USA has affiliate organizations in Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, India, Mexico, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, and Korea. ICLEI also conducts project activities through regional offices in P.R. China and Indonesia. Local governments and their associations constitute ICLEI’s global membership. As a democratic, membership-driven association, every member has a vote at council meetings where the priorities and direction of the organization are determined. “ I think [ICLEI] has been wonderful. One of the things that’s been most refreshing is this sort of high level of humanity. They have a very important job and they’ve been very effective in reaching out, yet they understand this is based upon the individual and they still have a feel for that, even though they’re an international organization. They understand the importance of the contribution of individuals, both positive and negative. I think their role will be more important as we start to get down to what works in other areas. Is there some stuff we can do here that works in another place so we don’t have to spend a lot of energy looking for a solution? I guess the network is the best way to say it. Having a consistent and broadly used program and process for tracking and establishing baselines which is used by all the partners [nine cities and major agencies in the county who are working on a cooperative plan] has really been a blessing for having consistent data and a consistent methodology for getting that data. Dell Tredinnick, Project Development Manager City of Santa Rosa, California September 2008 ” .com 27 http://www.iclei-usa.org/about-iclei/iclei-by_region http://icleiusa.org http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=1387®ion=NA http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=1387®ion=NA http://CitiesGoGreen.com
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