Marin County has an award-winning planning model

The sustainability program of Marin County (California, U.S.A.) has become a national model in the U.S.A. demonstrating how planners can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Program has several initiatives that assess County progress towards sustainability. The County has released numerous reports that monitor County activity in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, resource use, and waste production. These initiatives assess County performance while proposing methods to improve performance and providing useful information and links to relevant resources.

Through the Program, greenhouse gas emissions in public buildings were reduced by 100 tons during a five-year period.  Energy efficiency measures in the program resulted in nearly two million kilowatt hours of energy being saved between 2006 and 2007, and energy conservation measures prevented 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide from being generated.

More and more cities are facing the need to mitigate climate change while already adapting to the changes brought about by climate change.  ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection^® (CCP) Campaign is an innovative international campaign that helps local government and their communities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the environment.   And now, the CCP Campaign is launching the Adaptation Initiative, building capacity for climate change impacts at the local level.  For more information, please visit www.iclei.org/ccp.

Marin County is one of 296 local governments in the U.S.A. that are currently Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.  For more information on ICLEI and its activities in the U.S.A., please visit www.iclei.org/usa.

Source:  “Addressing climate change through land use”, New York Times, 29 January 2008.