ICLEI - the global cities network. We are a powerful movement of 12 mega-cities, 100 super-cities & urban regions, 450 large cities, 450 small & medium-sized cities & towns in 84 countries dedicated to sustainable development---Quote from ICLEI's international website http://www.iclei.org/
I am still conducting a review of a large stack of documents to determine an appropriate response to the question of why the City retains a membership with ICLEI. ICLEI is a resource for information/training and a reference for grants. Based upon what I do know about ICLEI and the principles developed, the state policies contained in AB32 (climate protection legislation) are directly linked to the principles of ICLEI and form the basis for the sustainable communities strategies for the state and region.--- Quote from documents obtained by Public Records request, this is from a letter by Kathy Millison, City Manager, Santa Rosa, California, to the Santa Rosa City Council after we demanded that our city cancel its membership in ICLEI.
What does ICLEI (pronounced ICK-LY) stand for? International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. It was created as a non-governmental spin-off by the United Nations in 1990 to implement Agenda 21 locally across the world. It is a membership organization for cities; 7,807 worldwide as of 2012.
Headquartered in Bonn, Germany, it is a lobbying and policy group that is intended to influence and change local governmental policies related to all aspects of human life. It designs and sells systems that monitor, report, and control water and energy usage. This information is then shared.
By concentrating power in cities this group circumvents requirements for ratification of international treaties and gives the illusion of local control. ICLEI is structured as a parallel government but has no transparency because it is a private non-profit.
In fact the cities then ally in regional conglomerates which break jurisdictional boundaries and will destroy local control. These regional boards are unelected and not answerable to the citizenry.
Ultimately this facilitates global governance by invalidating individual cities, counties, states, and nations with agreements and interwoven systems to which they are bound by contract: public private partnerships.
SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE FOR DETAILS ON ICLEI DIRECTOR'S ALLEGED CONFLICT OF INTEREST IN AWARDING AN $83,000 CONTRACT TO ICLEI WHILE SHE WAS A SONOMA COUNTY SUPERVISOR.
Why don't you hear about this at your city council or county supervisor meetings? Is it possible that only a core group in each locale know about it? Don't be fooled. You can check the membership list to see if your municipality is a member, but it's likely that ICLEI has tentacles into your town even if you don't see it on the list (this is an old 2008 list--the most recent one ICLEI will let you see.) ICLEI funds trainings, issues guidelines, consults with communities, sets goals, and measures progress. ICLEI is the implementation arm of UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development. ICLEI fragments into and influences so-called local groups that pressure your government for more regulations. ICLEI blurs the lines between public and private, between governmental and non-governmental.
Greenhouse gas emissions are being tracked, measured, and logged by ICLEI. Carbon offset trading, greenhouse gas emission goals, and legal statutes are designed and regulated by ICLEI.
There is a growing movement to KICK ICLEI OUT of towns across the US. Spokane, Washington has a ballot initiative in the works that will change their city charter to remove ICLEI and prohibit the city from UN-affiliated group membership if it passes.
PRINT OUR FLYERS TO KICK ICLEI OUT (pdf)
Use this one if your CITY is a member
Use this one if your COUNTY is a member
There is such a sense of nervous panic in ICLEI's description of its mission, as if it's almost too late to implement their plans. But they are being implemented, at an alarming rate.
NEARLY 8,000 MEMBERS WORLDWIDE--Cities containing over 1 billion people
Well, ICLEI has pulled the map of the world with their members on it from their Rio+20 site. ICLEI also pulled the list of worldwide members (about 8,000 cities) from their Rio+20 site. The page says that now that Rio+20 is over there's no need for it. They do still have the old site (most recent info is 2008) up online. This old list shows 1,200 members worldwide. The actual membership has gone up SIX times in a few years. Click here for a screen shot of a portion of the membership list that we captured before they took the page down.
Here's their statement on why they removed the information from their site:
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Dear Colleague,Thank you so much for supporting the Local Action Counter. A year since the launch of the Counter, we have registered more than 8000 cities working towards sustainability worldwide - an encouraging figure that further strengthened our advocacy at the Rio+20 conference.
However now that the Rio conference is behind us, we have decided to close down the Counter. Once again thanks for your support - and let us keep working towards a sustainable urban future for all! Best regards,ICLEI Rio+20 Team
TAKE A LOOK AT THE MAP OF ICLEI MEMBERS WORLD-WIDE---IT'S SHOCKING (CLICK HERE) Well, it was shocking. It's gone now--the page is down. But they showed all of the members as blue dots and it was like a plague on the world. That's a piece of it up above, showing Europe.
ICLEI'S 2011 World Charter states that it 'will promote and ask its members to adopt' the Earth Charter...a green mask.
WHAT IS ICLEI DOING IN RIO?
Click here to read the Rio+20 agreement.
The following is from ICLEI's website:
At Rio+20 we launched the GreenClimateCities initiative and, together with partners, the Global Initiative on Urban Resilience. We have been encouraged by Rio+20 to continue driving the sustainable cities agenda. Rio+20 has reinvigorated our strategy of supporting cities on the pathway to becoming resilient, resource efficient, biodiverse and low-carbon, to turn their urban economy green and build smart infrastructure, with the ultimate goal of ensuring a healthy & happy community.
ICLEI
presents 8 agendas for rapid and radical action
ICLEI is a powerful movement of 12 mega-cities, 100 super-cities, 450 large cities and
urban regions as well as 650 small and medium-sized cities and towns in 80
countries.
The pace of global environmental change, the trends of degradation within global ecosystem
services and the overshoot of the human footprint on Earth require an
acceleration of local efforts. Experts confirm what all of us feel: We must act
more rapidly and pursue more radical solutions ICLEI is set to support its
Member cities and local governments in working towards sustainability.
ICLEI promotes
local action for global sustainability and supports cities to become
sustainable, resilient, resource-efficient, biodiverse, low-carbon; to build a
smart infrastructure; and to develop an inclusive, green urban economy. The
ultimate aim is to achieve healthy and happy communities.
We have developed stable, long-term programs to support local-level sustainability and
continue to develop innovative new programs to respond to issues of
international concern. ICLEI’s work pursues 8 agendas designed to support Member
cities and local governments in their efforts towards sustainability.
Resource Efficient Cities
Resource-efficient cities will gain competitive advantage in
an era of shrinking global resources coupled with global and urban population
growth. However, efficiency gains through urban density are thwarted by billions
of people adopting resource-consumptive urban lifestyles. Cities, if wanting to
be future-proof, need to go beyond minimizing the use of natural resources and
become productive systems.
ICLEI offers:
- Programs such as Integrated Urban Water
Management (IUWM), Green Growth Cities and networks such as Food Smart
Cities - Capacity building as well as systems – esp.
ecoBudget® – and tools for managing local natural resources such as land and
soil, water, fauna & flora and biodiversity, food, nutrients, minerals,
materials, energy - ICLEI triennial World Congress and regional
conventions
Sustainable City
How cities perform will impact not just the living
conditions of the over six billion people who will be living in cities in the
year 2050, but also the condition of ecosystems and economy globally. More and
more cities are accelerating efforts to becoming a true “eco-city, “green city”
or “sustainable city”.
ICLEI offers:
- Leadership in the Local Agenda 21 movement for
participatory governance - Networks such as the global Eco-cities
Network - Capacity building
- Systems and tools for sustainability
management, e.g. ecoBudget® - Advocacy on behalf of local
governments - ICLEI triennial World Congress and regional
conventions
Green Urban Economy
The way we produce, distribute, purchase, use and consume
determines the stability of ecosystems and sustainability of human civilization
on Earth. Green, inclusive urban economies based on cradle-to- cradle material
cycles and an appreciation of human labor over energy-intensive technology will
make a difference. Sustainable procurement will drive the market green, create
green jobs, and support future-oriented industries.
ICLEI offers:
- A Green Urban Economy strategy
- Local Action for Employment processes, engaging
stakeholders in the development of job creation and green job
strategies - Sustainable Procurement program through ICLEI’s
Sustainable Procurement Center, regional secretariats and country
offices - EcoProcura© Conferences for exchange and
learning - ICLEI guidance and technical advice on hosting
green events - ICLEI triennial World Congress and regional
conventions
Smart Urban Infrastructure
A city’s eco-efficient, resilient and low-carbon development
requires smart urban infrastructure which, in turn depends on smart systems
design. Cities must look beyond single technologies and at the variety of urban
infrastructures, identifying possible efficiency gains through linkages between
different infrastructures, new operational and business models, as well as
financing models.
ICLEI offers:
- ICLEI’s Local Renewables Center, regional
secretariats and country offices inform Members about regionally specific Local
Renewables programs - Annual, international Local Renewables
conference in Freiburg - In partnership with the Green Building Councils
and UNEP, ICLEI offers cities technical advice on green buildings and
sustainable construction - An annual Resilient Building & Construction
Forum in Bonn, Germany - Join the EcoMobility Alliance
- Biennial EcoMobility world congress
- Annual resilient Urban Logistics Forum in Bonn,
Germany
Resilient City
Sustainable cities must be low-risk and resilient cities:
resilient to disaster, climate change, economic shocks and any unforeseen
events. Resilience building involves reducing exposure to risk and vulnerability
while increasing resistance and robustness and ensuring emergency
preparedness.
ICLEI offers:
- A range of Resilient Cities/Communities or
climate adaptation programs tailored to regional conditions - The annual Resilient Cities global forum on
urban resilience and adaptation in Bonn - Cities are invited to sign the Durban
Adaptation Charter expressing their commitment to climate change adaptation
action - The Mayors Adaptation Forum in Bonn convened by
the World Mayors Council - Cities may also join the “Making cities
resilient: My city is getting ready” campaign of UN-ISDR with ICLEI and other
partners
Low Carbon City
Low-carbon, low-emission or even carbon-neutral cities, are
the signposts to sustainability. Cities account for 70-80% of global carbon
dioxide emissions. Therefore, an effective international climate agreement must
include a focus on urban greenhouse gas reduction. Cities and local governments,
however, must not wait for an international agreement to be reached but should
act ambitiously and rapidly.
ICLEI offers:
- Global Cities Covenant on Climate (Mexico City
Pact) - Bonn Center for Local Climate Action and
Reporting (carbonn®) operates the carbonn Cities Climate Registry - GreenClimateCities program guides cities
through a process of analysis, target-setting, programming, identifying finance,
implementation, monitoring and reporting - HEAT+ online tool is available for cities to
account for their greenhouse gas emissions - ICLEI actively advocates local climate action,
local governments as partners in global climate governance, bottom-up finance
mechanisms and local government access to climate finance
Biodiverse City
Ecosystem-based local planning and management is an
increasingly essential component of the future sustainable city. The manifold
benefits derived from ecosystem-based goods and services underpin most local
economies and provide cost-effective and sustainable essential services and
green jobs to municipalities and their communities. ICLEI Members define the
cutting edge of ecosystem-based planning and management and become biodiverse
cities.
ICLEI offers:
- Cities Biodiversity Center, regional
secretariats and country offices enables cities, local and sub-national
governments worldwide to commit to biodiversity action - Local Action for Biodiversity (LAB) Pioneer
Project, a partnership initiative with IUCN and others, that is the entry level
of choice for cities to join over 50 leading cities and local governments on all
continents - URBIS Network and the various BiodiverCities
projects run at country and regional
Healthy and Happy Communities
Ultimately cities strive to ensure that their local
community enjoys health and happiness and good quality of life. Whether on a
modest or more affluent economic footing, local governments must promote
community vitality, health, peace, safety, education, culture, and good
governance. Local governments can take advantage of 20 years of ICLEI leadership
and experience in promoting participatory governance and sustainable development
planning for healthy and happy communities.
ICLEI offers:
- ICLEI offers opportunities for Members to
develop a local “happiness index” on the route “beyond GDP” - Members concerned about public health and
safety may seek guidance through ICLEI’s support Safe & Healthy Communities
program - The Local Agenda for Peace and Security gives
support to members in crisis-stricken regions or those with a community
suffering from violence who incorporate a just and peaceful community in their
sustainable development plans
GET DOWN TO THE WATER AGREEMENT
ICLEI: Connecting Leaders Connect. Innovate. Accelerate. Solve. The pace of global environmental change, the degradation of ecosystem services globally and the overshoot of the human footprint on Earth require an acceleration of local efforts. Even if all 1,100+ local governments forming ICLEI's membership performed in the most advanced manner, and if we were to extrapolate these efforts into the future, those valiant efforts alone would not reach a sustainable level of resource consumption and pollution in communities - better known as the ecological footprint of cities.
Experts confirm what all of us feel: We must act more rapidly and collaboratively and strive for more radical solutions
To accelerate action, ICLEI invites to the table leaders from a wide array of sectors who all have a stake in urban sustainability: Local governments, regional and national governments, international agencies, financing institutions, non-profits, academia and the business community.
They are mayors and entrepreneurs, scientists and agency heads, ministers and CEOs, strategists and organizational leaders. They are innovators, decision makers, agenda setters and agents of change.
Unlocking the Secret to Solutions: The Power of a Networking Platform
To establish the relationships, partnerships and synergies that will unleash the creativity and innovation needed to meet local and global sustainability goals, ICLEI implements a range of strategies. A snapshot of the ways in which ICLEI connects leaders:
- Connect cities and local governments to the United Nations and other international bodies. ICLEI represents local governments at the United Nations (UN) Commission on Sustainable Development, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Conventions on Biodiversity and Combating Desertification and co-operates with the UN Environment Programme and UN-HABITAT.
- Mobilize local governments to help their countries implement multilateral environmental agreements such as the Rio conventions through Cities for Climate Protection, Local Action for Biodiversity and other initiatives.
- Forge multi-stakeholder partnerships such as Resilient Cities, a global framework on urban resilience and climate adaptation where local governments, international agencies, development banks, ministries, institutes, and others, collaborate.
- Form strategic alliances like the Global Alliance for EcoMobility which brings leading global actors from the business, governmental, user and expert sectors together to promote walking, cycling and use of public transport.
- Join forces with the business sector, including engagement in the World Economic Forum's SlimCity initiative and participation at the Forum's Global Agenda Council on the Future of Cities.
- Unite cities and foster solutions through pilot projects. Fourteen cities pioneered ICLEI's climate action planning methods in the early 1990s, and a group of local governments formed the Local Agenda 21 Model Communities Project in the mid-1990s. Following their lead, ICLEI convened leading local governments to lay the groundwork for the Sustainable Procurement program, cultivated a group of Local Renewables Model Communities, and formed networks of pilot cities for Local Action for Biodiversity, Climate Resilientsustainability planning and many more ground-breaking endeavours. Communities,
- Convene World Congresses that bring the members of our network together for an exchange on solutions and successes, including 2000 in Dessau (Germany), 2003 in Athens (Greece), 2006 in Cape TownEdmonton (Canada) and 2010 in Incheon(South Korea). (South Africa), 2009 in
- Connect political leaders to advance advocacy, as with the World Mayors Council on Climate Change. This alliance of committed municipal leaders advocates for governments and international bodies to enhance their recognition of local governments as key actors in addressing climate change.
DID YOU MAKE IT ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE? CONGRATULATIONS. But that's not all ICLEI does. There are many other programs in place right now, in your town.
Have you seen the new Water Agreement? Here it is:
What we have copied here for you is the new ICLEI Water Campaign. It started in South East Asia (including Australia) and is headed your way. Of course it sounds so nice. Water is a common good. This is a way to inventory and control all water in the world. To identify all water sources, all wells, water courses, streams, creeks, rivers, lakes etc. and monitor them. Control. Here's the document designed to be signed by your City Council or Board of Supervisors. Will they tell you about it?
ICLEI WATER CAMPAIGN
LOCAL GOVERNMENT RESOLUTION
OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT, _______________________, hereby express our interest to be an ICLEI Member and join its programs and campaigns.
We RECOGNIZE that water is a common good, a finite resource, a shared common asset and that access to this resource is a basic right.
We ENDORSE the aims and objectives of the Water Campaign, a international ICLEI campaign to mobilize local government action to protect and properly manage freshwater resources by establishing partnerships with other concerned sectors and institutions in coming up with integrated plans and programs to manage this resource.
We COMMIT to achieve tangible improvements in the sustainable use of freshwater resources.
WE THEREFORE PLEDGE to accomplish the following 5 milestones:
Milestone 1: Inventory and Forecast direct and indirect impacts on water resources
Milestone 2: Establish targets for efficient water access and consumption and improved water quality
Milestone 3: Develop and obtain official approval for a local water agenda
Milestone 4: Implement policies and measures
Milestone 5: Monitor and Report results
We THEREFORE PLEDGE to consider the cost arrangements to undertake the Water Campaign.
______________________ ________________________
Signature Name of Local Government
______________________ _________________________
Name and Title Date
(please print)
Contact Person: Phone:
E-mail Address: Fax:
Pls. Mail/Fax Original Copy to:
ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability
Southeast Asia Secretariat
The Manila Observatory Bldg., Ateneo de Manila University,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1101 Philippines
Tel. No.(+63 2) 426-5921 to 23
Fax No. (+63 2) 426-0851
Website: www.iclei.org
ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is a membership organization dedicated to building and serving a worldwide
movement of local governments to achieve tangible improvements in global sustainability with special focus on
environmental conditions through cumulative local actions.
On June 6, 2011, Rosa Koire, Executive Director of The Post Sustainability Institute, reported Sonoma County Supervisor Valerie Brown to the California Fair Political Practices Commission for an alleged conflict of interest. Supervisor Brown, who also serves on the national board of ICLEI-USA, voted to grant an $83,000 no-bid contract to ICLEI for greenhouse gas emissions protocols in Sonoma County. Supervisor Brown did not recuse herself from voting and made no mention of her connection to ICLEI when she voted to enter an $83,000 contract on behalf of her county. The Fair Political Practices Commission, a government ethics agency, has 14 days from the filing date to determine whether or not to launch an investigation (detail of filing on the left and below). UPDATE: The FPPC has notified us that they do not have enough information to open an investigation. We will obtain more information and continue to pursue this.
Provision or Provisions of the Political Reform Act Allegedly Violated:
Valerie Brown, Sonoma County Supervisor, voted to pay ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, a private non-profit organization, $83,000 for Community Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Protocol while she was sitting on the National Board for ICLEI-USA. On November 17, 2009, at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency on which she was a Director, Valerie Brown voted to approve the Agreement between SCWA and ICLEI. The vote was 3-0 with two Directors (Kerns and Carrillo) absent. If Brown had recused herself the vote could not have gone forward with only two Directors present, and the contract would not have had enough votes to be approved. ICLEI-USA has national and international conferences and trainings which Ms. Brown has attended. There is a likelihood of compensation in the form of lodging, meals, honorariums, transportation, etc. Even if Ms. Brown did not receive a direct payment from ICLEI-USA she would have had an interest in seeing ICLEI-USA receive a contract for $83,000. It appears to be a conflict of interest to represent a private non-profit nationally and internationally and then award that same organization a contract from the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. Sonoma County is a dues-paying member to ICLEI-USA.
Here's some more info on ICLEI: funders and partners
LIST OF PARTNERS
Our current partners and cooperation partners at the global level include, among others:
ADB - Asia Development Bank
BMZ - Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
C40 - Climate Leadership Group
Deutsche Post - DHL
Eco-Forum Global, China
Ecocity Builders
EMI - The Earthquake and Megacities Initiative
Fundación Pensar (Pensar Foundation)
GEB - Global Energy Basel
GFN - Global Footprint Network
GIZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Yusammenarbeit
GRF - Global Risk Forum Davos
IADB - Inter-American Development Bank
ICCIP - International Institute for Environment and Development
IGPN - International Green Purchasing Network
IIED - International Institute for Environment and Development
IRENA - International Renewable Energy Agency
ISOCARP - International Society of City and Regional Planners
IUCN - International Union for Conservation of Nature
Metropolis - World Association of the Major Metropolises
MOPAS - Ministry of Public Administration and Security, Republic of Korea
NRG4SD - network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development
R20 - Regions of Climate Action
REEEP - Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership
Rockefeller Foundation
SEED initiative
Stakeholder Forum
The Climate Group
UCLG- United Cities and Local Governments
UN-HABITAT - United Nations Human Settlements Programme
UNCBD - United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
UNCCD - United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
UNCDF - United Nations Capital Development Fund
UNEP - United Nations Environment Programme
UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNISDR - United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
UNU-EHS - United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security
Urban Age Institute
World Bank
World Business Council on Sustainable Development
World Cities Summit
World Economic Forum
World Green Building Council
WWC - World Water Council
WWF - Worldwide Fund for Nature