Portal de Murcia

www.portaldemurcia.com

• Home
• Business
• Hotels
• Restaurants
• News
• Advertisement

"The success of sustainable energy policies and the fight against global climate change depends on the cities." This message has started his speech the Mayor of Murcia, Miguel Ángel Cámara, at the opening session of the Conference USA Global 2010 to be held in Washington and in representing the European mayors committed to an effective fight against climate change and more sustainable use of energy.

Before an audience composed of the world's leading experts in sustainability from 36 countries, the Chamber has explained that in Europe alone, 75% of the population lives in cities, where it consumes 80% of energy.

Hence the importance of the decision of the EU to "down" for the first time at the local level to apply to cities that are involved in the fight against climate change.

One implication which resulted in the commitment of the municipalities adhering to reduce CO2 emissions by at least 20% by 2020.

The agreement led to the creation of the Covenant of Mayors, which currently comprising more than 1,600 cities, 300 of them Spanish.

Murcia, which together with Madrid led in the past two years this movement, officially joined the February 10, 2009.

House has secured the commitment of the mayors of European cities is essential since "any measure that is designed to limit climate change requires the participation of local governments."

So "the municipalities are the key to sustainability", though they are with the limitation of lack of resources to effectively implement environmental policies, which is why the Mayor has again claimed the support of national governments and supranational institutions to carry out these programs.

In 2020, 40% less emissions compared to 2007

House has used his speech to present the actions that are running Murcia in energy efficiency and which are encompassed in the Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy, which describes the specific steps to take to achieve a more rational use of energy, encouraging the promoting savings and renewable energy as a way to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020.

For this year has set the challenge of reducing emissions by 40% 2007 and to reach this goal, we propose to reduce by 20% through conservation measures, energy efficiency and renewable energy and 20% through creating CO2 sinks (green areas).

Sustainability policies of the City of Murcia in renewable energy and energy efficiency has been active since 2000, when he settled in the General Urban Plan the need of introducing facilities for the use of solar energy for water generation hot in all buildings of the new partial plans.

This innovative measure in 2000 that came into force in the rest of Spain seven years later with the Technical Building Code.

Also, since 2003, the City Council gives grants to citizens to promote energy efficiency investments in both the construction sector and in transport.

Since the launch of Germany in 2007 - the extension of energy efficiency policies the City has been extended to all areas where local government has the power, as evidenced by the large number of measures of the Local Strategy 2008-2011 Climate Change focused on promoting rational and efficient use of energy, both in municipal and among the population.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia