EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Commissioner Wallström: "Cities hold key to solving environmental problems"

Commissioner Wallström: "Cities hold key to solving environmental problems"

13-06-2007

Cities hold the key to solving the world’s environmental problems, according to European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallström. She presented the Commission’s vision on environmental sustainability on the occasion of the opening of the Green Week 2007 on 12 June in Brussels. In the words of Wallström: “The quest for a sustainable future will be lost or won in our urban areas.”

According to Wallström, cities are essential because of three reasons:

With cities expanding rapidly worldwide, urban issues will increasingly monopolise attention from governments, encouraging local participatory democracy.
More than half of urban areas that will exist across the world in 2030 are yet to be built. "This means that…the world's cities are largely a blank canvas that should be painted, planned, designed and built," Wallström said, adding it is "an amazing chance".
Cities "are economic engines", accounting for 80% of the world's economic growth.

Building sustainable cities cannot be done by governments alone, Wallström stressed. However, governments should take the lead and mobilise citizens and businesses to achieve the aim of environmentally sustainable urban areas.

Source: EurActiv

Links
Read Margot Wallström’s speech Visit the Green Week 2007 website

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