Summary of Gwangju Initiative for urban environment summit

The following is the gist of an initiative outlined Thursday by Sonu Jung-ho, chief of the 2011 Gwangju Summit of the Urban Environmental Accords at the close of the summit in the southwestern city of Gwangju. The city of Gwangju aims to: Develop an urban Clean Development Mechanism for the promotion of green economies and sustainable urban development with U.N. Environment Program and the Korea Environment Institute. Develop an assessment index for an eco-friendly city which can be applied to both advanced and developing countries. In order to implement the above two projects, Gwangju will: Operate a consultation group with participation by UNEP, UN-Habitat and other international organizations to fulfill given missions with regard to the development and registration of urban CDM. Establish the “Global Low-Carbon Green City Award” to encourage the implementation of the Urban Environment Evaluation Index and to encourage member cities to make efforts toward becoming low carbon, green cities. Proceed with the establishment of an information center for sharing information and experiences, among member cities Provide UEA cities with related software and a manual for the program designed to manage the carbon bank system of Gwangju.