Bus rapid transit in Denver

Democratic Convention in Denver to be green

A meeting of the Democratic party in Denver (Colorado, U.S.A.) in 2008 will be the greenest to date.

Thousands of delegates will be encouraged to ride bicycles between their hotels and the Pepsi Center, to recycle everything from confetti to coffee cups and to buy ‘carbon offsets’ to repair the damage done from travelers flying to Denver from around the world.

Specifically, some of the strategies include:

• delegates flying into Denver will be given the opportunity to purchase carbon credits when they book their flights.  The money raised will be used to fund renewable energy projects in the mountain west;
• any local travel will be done in hybrid vans and taxis;
• downtown office workers will be encouraged to use rapid transit or car-pool during the convention;
• Convention officials will strive to create a ‘paperless’ convention, helping delegates book rooms and make reservations online and encouraging staff to send all memos via email;
• energy to power the Pepsi Center will come from wind turbines and solar panels positioned around the grounds; and
• Denver hotels will emphasize conserving water, asking visitors to take shorter showers and not use many towels. 

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.

Denver is one of 173 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:  “Blue party, green plans:  Denver convention hopes to expand on environmentally friendly initiatives in Boston in ‘04”, Denver Post, 27 June 2007.