ICLEI Secretary General participates at the Governing Councils of UNEP and UN-HABITAT

18-04-07

ICLEI’s Secretary General participated and spoke at both the UN-HABITAT and UNEP Governing Councils. The UN-HABITAT Governing Council focused on sustainable urbanization and local action for urban poverty reduction with an emphasis on finance and planning. Secretary General Otto-Zimmermann presented ICLEI’s successful climate change programs during the session ‘Cities and Climate Change’. Mr. Otto-Zimmermann presented ICLEI's Cities for Climate Protection Campaign and the Local Renewables Model Communities Network. Designated Chief of Habitat's Urban Environment Branch, Mr. Marco Keiner, gave a lecture on climate change and how it impacts on cities. Director of UN-HABITAT's Global Division, Mr. Lars Reutersard, pointed out that HABITAT is in the process of determining its approach to climate change. Additionally, ICLEI's Vice President Stephen Kabuye, Mayor of Entebbe (Uganda) shared his insight from a municipal leader's point of view. 50 representatives of cities, government, UN agencies and civil society attended the session, jointly hosted by UN-HABITAT, UNEP and ICLEI. The discussion focused on positioning the role of UN-HABITAT, building on the existing collaboration with UNEP and ICLEI.