Aalborg Commitments: Getting cities going

After the Rio Summit in 1992, only a few European countries put Local Agenda 21 on the urban agenda. To encourage change in this direction, the EU Commission was keen to launch a global initiative. Aalborg City and the Commission took the initiative to the first pan-European conference on Sustainable Cities in Aalborg in 1994. At the conference the so-called Aalborg Charter was adopted and approved by the participants.

Ten years later, in 2004, the Aalborg City again hosted a sustainability conference - the Aalborg +10 conference. The conference continued 10 years work with the Aalborg Charter and at the 2004 conference the Aalborg Commitments were signed by the participants. The commitments were formulated to inspire and engage European cities to work seriously and responsibly for a local sustainable development.

The Aalborg Commitments contains 10 themes which are all related to the European Commission's sustainability strategy. In this strategy, local municipalities are encouraged to join the Aalborg Commitments. The commitments encourage action on the areas that the local municipalities find most challenging. Targets and actions are defined by the local municipalities who commits to tell report widely about their goals and results.

By now, more than 600 local municipalities have signed the Aalborg Commitments and hereby participate automatically in the European Campaign for Sustainable Cities and Towns. The campaign has become the largest European network for local municipalities who want to commit to implementing local Agenda 21. The global network Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) has also been an important partner in the formulation of the Aalborg Committments and continues to be very active.

For more information see www.aalborgplus10.dk