Green cities: Putting people first by improving the environment

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Published Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 17:59
by Editor (503 views and 1 comments)

At the end of the day eco-friendliness is all about improving our living conditions. According to Michael Cohen, Mayor of Kalkara, Malta, this is easily forgotten in everyday talk about bans and restrictions which will help us save our planet – but at the same time force us to fundamentally change our way of living.

Local government is a key factor
Michael Cohen is a member of the Maltese Labour Party and PES Group Coordinator in the Commission for Sustainable Development. Leading up to the ‘Save our Planet’ event of the PES Group of the Committee of the Regions he shares his thoughts on the PES manifesto and what local governments can do to improve the environment:

“I think the most important environmental challenge in Europe right now is the high population density. A lot of forest has been burned and there’s not much land anymore. We need to plant more forest and to ensure more open spaces. This is a particular problem for Malta and other small European countries,” says Michael Cohen and continues: “It’s vital to get local councils and governments involved a lot more in environmental protection. Change at community level is a key factor for tackling environmental issues.”

A point which has certainly been proven by the community projects presented here on Yourspace: From Malmö, Sweden to Gerasdorf, Austria – cities get greener when local social democrats take action.  

It’s all about the people
For Michael Cohen a major priority for the PES manifesto should be to let citizens know that all the talk about the environment is, in fact, about them:

“We should make Europeans conscious that the PES puts people first by improving the environment. We care about people and their living conditions – this is why we want to change our environment and climate for the better.”

Green cities
On 15 May 2008 the PES Group in the Committee of the Regions will host a conference on ‘Save our Planet’ in Turin, Italy. Leading up to the event Yourspace invites local and regional politicians to give their view on what the PES manifesto should say about the environment. This article is the fifth in the ‘Green Cities’ series, offering a local perspective on global challenges.

Tags: environment, green cities

Comments

1. What to do? by green_beans Join PES activists on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at 11:20

I agree that it's important to keep in mind that improving the environment is not something which is meant to pester us with annoying life style changes, but actually something which will improve our quality of life in both the long run.

However, I am a bit in doubt with respect to over-population. I recognize that it's a challenge, but what should we do about it? I would be interested to hear proposals for a solution. 

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