In this issue:

1. ICLEI member news
2. Rovigo Climate Conference: a decisive success
3. EC launches Toolkit on Green Public Procurement
4. IUCN partners with ICLEI
5. Fact Sheets on Urban Biodiversity
6. Council of Europe's recommendations on adaptation to climate change
7. ICLEI Sustainable Procurement Services
8. New Procura⁺ participants' area launched
9. The Covenant of Mayors welcomes the Committee of the Regions
10. How sustainable are biofuels?
11. Protecting health from climate change, World Health Day  2008
12. New internship offer at the Global Alliance for EcoMobility
13. New events
14. Event reminders

1. ICLEI member news

Linz comes up with 52 ways to save the world

ICLEI member city Linz (Austria), also 2009 European Capital of Culture,  is staging a '52 Ways to Save the World' international idea competition that will enable individuals to implement some of the possibilities to rescue our planet.

Adaptation - Anarchy - Awakening - Back to Nature - Beelzebub - Democracy - Design - Education - Energy - Enlightenment - Extinction - Flexibility - Modesty - Nobility - Repentance - Respect - and Zest for Life  are some exemplary keywords that '52 Ways to Save the World' will bring to life.

This project's mission is to provide a public showcase on a rotating, one-week basis for 52 individual initiatives worthy of notice and replication.

For more information on '52 Ways to Save the World', please click here.

2. Rovigo Climate Conference: a decisive success

Thank you to the 253 participants and speakers representing 31 countries around the world for making the Rovigo 2008 Conference a success!

Held in Rovigo, Italy, from 2 - 4 April 2008, this European Climate Conference was organised by ICLEI's International Training Centre and aimed at motivating more small and medium communities to become engaged in climate protection.

A key part of this event was the launch of the new Working Group 'Lifestyle and Citizen Behaviour'. Led by the City of Malmö, Sweden, with support from ICLEI's Climate & Air Team, this working group is a mechanism established within ICLEI's  European Cities for Climate Protection (CCP)^TM Campaign, and acts as a practical measure to support local governments in developing strong, effective climate protection messages.

The intensive and productive discussions and exchanges that took place during the conference also led to the development of the Rovigo Outreach, that calls on small and medium sized communities to vigorously engage in climate protection.

For more information about the new Working Group, please contact Maryke van Staden, co-ordinator of ICLEI's Climate & Air Team and Cities for Climate Protection Campaign, or download the press release.

You can also download the Rovigo Outreach and the conference presentations by clicking here.

3. EC launches Toolkit on Green Public Procurement

The European Commission has just launched a Training Toolkit on Green Public Procurement (GPP) designed to provide any European public authority with advice and information on the straightforward implementation of GPP.

Developed and coordinated by ICLEI with three European Partners - Ecoinstitut Barcelona, SenterNovem and SMK - this Toolkit consists of three independent modules, designed to overcome a specific problem identified as a barrier to the uptake of Green Public Procurement within a public organisation.

The strategic module seeks to raise the political support for green public procurement within an organisation, targeting in particular decision makers; the legal module, designed for both strategic and operational levels, seeks to clarify legal issues; the operational module is aimed at purchasing officers responsible for preparing tender documents, and includes concrete examples of environmental criteria for use in public tendering procedures (for eg paper, cleaning products, office machinery etc)

This toolkit is a core part of the Commission's strategy for promoting GPP across Europe within its sustainable production and consumption strategy.

The Toolkit can be found here.
For more information on the project contact Simon Clement at simon.clement@iclei.org

4. IUCN partners with ICLEI

IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, will have ICLEI as a main partner at their upcoming World Congress in Barcelona in October 2008, as they will dedicate one of their six high-profile roundtables to their cooperation with local governments.

This decision follows the Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations, which was signed in October 2007 at the IUCN headquarters in Gland, Switzerland.

IUCN, with more than 1,000 members, will intensify their co-operation with ICLEI in various fields, such as Local Action for Biodiversity, Countdown 2010, the Mayors Conference 'Local Action for Biodiversity' and the IUCN World Congress in Barcelona in October 2008.

Issues such as biodiversity and climate protection as a criteria in procurement decisions are to be the focus of future co-operation with the aim of mainstreaming biodiversity into municipal decision making.

For more information on IUCN World Congress, click here

5.Fact Sheets on Urban Biodiversity

With the support of Countdown 2010, the European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC) and Local Action for Biodiversity, ICLEI has compiled seven fact sheets on Urban Biodiversity for local and regional governments.

These brief, four-page documents are part of the outcomes of  a one-year project on local and regional authorities for biodiversity funded by the Dutch Government. They aim to familiarise local governments with essential facts on urban biodiversity and their opportunities for more effectively managing biodiversity in cities and towns.

ICLEI and IUCN are now preparing the ground for extending their 'Local  Action for Biodiversity' initiative so that all signatories to Countdown 2010, a network of more than 160 partners working together towards the 2010 biodiversity targets, can be supported in implementing their commitments.

You can find the fact sheets here.
For more information visit www.countdown2010.net or www.iclei.org/lab.

6. Council of Europe's recommendations on adaptation to climate change

The Spring Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CoE) has published Recommendation, Resolution and Report documents on adaptation to climate change which constitute the outcomes of the Congress's Committee on Sustainable Development.

Through participation in an expert meeting held at the Council of Europe in September 2007, ICLEI was able to contribute to these publications.  The CoE supports ICLEI's position in several issues such as the necessity of an integrated management cycle or the establishment of local, regional, national and transnational networks.

Among many other recommendations, the Congress calls upon local and regional authorities to primarily define climate strategies which  focus on vulnerability assessment and adaptation, and guarantee the protection of people, resources and property faced with the consequences of climate change.

For more information contact ICLEI's Director of Sustainability Management, Holger Robrecht.
To read the documents in details, click here.

7. ICLEI Sustainable Procurement Services

ICLEI's Sustainable Procurement team now offers tailor-made training and consultancy services.

The training is stimulating and designed to effectively engage people and illustrate the practical implications of sustainable procurement. With more than 10 years experience working with public authorities on making procurement more sustainable, our new consultancy services fit public authorities of any size of level and experience.

Book a training or consultancy session today!

For more information, read the ICLEI Sustainable Procurement Services
leaflet available here or contact Mark Hidson at mark.hidson@iclei.org.

8. New Procura+ participants' area launched

A new participants'area has been launched within the Procura⁺ Campaign website, accessible to all current Procura⁺ participants and national partners. It includes a large number of resources aimed at helping participants to implement sustainable procurement within their local authority.

Among these resources you will find a collection of tender examples, a library of publications related to public procurement as well as a selection of photos, graphics and logos related to the topic.

These resources have been collected over many years of working in the field, and will be continually expanded and updated. Participants are also encouraged to share their own resources with the Campaign.

To find out more about joining the Campaign or to access the participants' area
please visit the Campaign website or contact Mark Hidson.

9. The Covenant of Mayors welcomes the Committee of the Regions

Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs has welcomed the Committee of the Regions (CoR) as a new partner in the European Covenant of Mayors, a network of cities and  regions which have pledged to fight global warming by going beyond the EU's 2020 target for reducing CO2 emissions by more than 20%.

Ten mayors and deputy mayors, eight of whom represent ICLEI members, attended the launching of the Covenant of Mayors during the European Sustainable Energy  Week in January. Since then, it has already received the backing of 140 cities and regions, including more than 15 capitals.

The CoR, a consultative body that provides local and regional authorities with a voice  over the content of EU legislation, will issue an outlook report on regional involvement in the Covenant initiative.

To read the press release, click here.
For more information on the Covenant of Mayors, please click here.

10. How sustainable are biofuels?

The fourth issue of the Biofuel Cities quarterly newsletter focuses on the current debate concerning the sustainability of biofuels and suggests concrete measures to establish sustainability criteria for biofuels, in order to help governments and businesses take the most appropriate decisions.

With a different focus in each issue, the Biofuel Cities Quarterly, produced by the Biofuel Cities European Partnership, keeps you informed about technology and policy developments related to the application of biofuels.

The Biofuel Cities European Partnership is a forum for all stakeholders in the area of biofuel and energy-efficient vehicles. It is supported by the European Commission-funded Biofuel Cities project, where ICLEI is one of seven partners.

Download the Biofuel Cities quaterly here [PDF 640kB]
For more information on the Biofuel Cities project click here.

11. Protecting health from climate change, World Health Day 2008

World Health Day, celebrated every year on April 7, marks the founding of the World Health Organization and is an opportunity to draw worldwide attention to a subject of major importance to global health.

This year's theme, 'protecting health from climate change', has put health at the center of the global dialogue about climate change. The health impacts of climate change are already evident in different ways, and will be disproportionately greater in vulnerable populations.

Many European countries are already experiencing climate change related health impacts. These impacts are avoidable or controllable, if well-known and well-tested public health interventions are applied. The objective of World Health Day 2008 is to catalyse public participation in the global campaign to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change.

For further information on World Health Day 2008 click here.

12. New internship offer at the Global Alliance for EcoMobility

The Global Alliance for EcoMobility is a cross-sectoral partnership for the integrated promotion of walking, cycling, wheeling and 'passenging' (use of public transport). Its members are global leaders from the business, user, expert and governmental sectors.

The Alliance Secretariat, based in Freiburg, Germany, seeks an Intern to support the implementation of the Alliance's workplan.

For full details regarding this position and on how to apply, visit ICLEI Jobs page.

13. New events

Launch of the European Green Capital award scheme
22 May 2008, Brussels (Belgium)

On 22 May 2008, DG Environment will launch the European Green Capital award scheme in Brussels. This award marks a city's wish and capability to solve environmental problems in order to both improve the quality of life of its citizens and reduce its contribution to global environmental problems.

Each year a European city will be rewarded for having:  improved the state of the environment and promoted sustainable development over the last five to ten years; worked in cooperation and partnership with its citizens, business, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders; committed to continuing a program of ongoing improvement thus ensuring a long-term effect of its measures on high urban environment quality; the willingness to play a key role in promoting wider exchange of experience and best practice between cities on environmental management.

Currently, 36 major European cities, including 20 EU capital cities are part of the initiative. Cities will be invited to apply via an online application form from 22 May and the award winner will be selected by end 2008.

Find more information here.
The website will be available soon at www.europeangreencapital.eu

14. Event reminders

4th National Finnish Municipal Conference on Climate Issues
6 - 7 May 2008, Tampere (Finland)

7th Ecoprocura Conference
25 - 27 March 2009, Reykjavik (Iceland)

The ICLEI in Europe newsletter is produced by the European Secretariat of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability. Copies are available on request. Editors: Stefan Kuhn (responsible), Ciara Leonard, Lydie Gerboin.

Comments and questions are welcome - please write to Lydie Gerboin at information.services@iclei.org, Leopoldring 3, 79098 Freiburg, Germany,Tel: +49-761/36 89 2-0, www.iclei-europe.org

ICLEI is a membership organisation of local governments and their associations. To date more than 800 municipalities and municipal associations of all sizes from around the world have made a unique commitment to sustainable development by joining ICLEI. They support the work of ICLEI through their membership fees as well as through their experience and creativity in the development and implementation of projects and campaigns to address the globe's biggest problems. Within the organisation they are part of a network of peers that can profit from each other's knowledge. For membership information please have a look at our website or contact: membership.services@iclei.org

copyright 2008 ICLEI European Secretariat GmbH, Freiburg, Germany. All rights reserved.