The UCLG Secretary General addressed the Opening of the Iberoamerican Inter-Ministerial Consultation on Sustainable Cities at UN New York, Co-organised by the Spanish Government and UN Habitat with the collaboration of UCLG, FLACMA and Mercociudades.
The Ambassador of Spain, Román Oyarzun, recognised the role to be played by sustainable cities in the eradication of poverty and the leading role that cities played in innovation and creativity.
UCLG insisted in the need to highlight the above mentioned role by providing concretre goals related to rapid urbanization. The Secretary General also presented the commitment of the international local government movement to contribute to the global agenda and called for a clearer role at the negotiation table. See full speech (in spanish)
He further highlighted the success of the campaign calling for a stand alone goal on urban sustainable development which will be presented in the coming days.
The need for dialogue between Ministers and Mayors was stressed by the Dr Joan Clos, Under Secretary General of the UN as a key instrument to address the challenges of rapid urbanization at unprecedented rates. Dr Clos expressed his concern about the urbanization processes currently taking place. Urbanization as it stands is an important source of consumption of energy, it is also creating new forms of poverty and can lead to great inequalities.
Addressing these challenges will be key to make optimal use of the advantages of the urban phenomenon.
Three full days will be dedicated in New York to these topics. Follow the live stream at http://webtv.un.org/