Beat that heat
according to a recently published article, greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions reduction programme undertaken by us cities could help meet 10 per cent of the total target usa has to meet under its Kyoto Protocol obligations. Urban planners in the us believe that enthusiastic participation by the municipalities in such programmes could lead to a positive result at national level, for the ratification of the treaty.
The article, published by the American Planning Association, says that us town planners, like insurance companies, are beginning to realise the importance of climate change realities even as the us government delays ratification of the Protocol.Quoting Abby Young, the director of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (iclei), the article says that 66 municipalities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, are now working with iclei to analyse ghgs emissions, adopt reduction targets and draft plans to meet goals (Edie weekly summaries, May 5, 2000)
Young estimates that municipalities at city level could contribute up to 10 per cent of the reductions needed by the us, to meet its Kyoto Protocol targets of an 8 per cent reduction of its ghgs emissions below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. "iclei's us cities for climate protection communities represent about 10 per cent, probably 11 per cent by now, of us per capita carbon dioxide emissions," says Young. According to him, significant action at local level could motivate a similar action at the state and national level.
Climate change and related issues raise a number of problems for us city planners. Increased flooding could throw the entire civic maintenance system in a chaos including water, sewage and storm water systems, according to the us Environment Protection Authority (epa). The epa also predicts that a 1.6
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