3 October 2011, 14.00-17.30 hrsEuropean Economic and Social Committee,
hall VM3, 2 rure Van Maerlant, Bruxelles
The United Nations has declared the first Monday of the month of October each year as the World Habitat Day – an occasion to reflect on the status of human settlements, particularly on the livelihoods of citizens and their right to a decent shelter in the world.
The Global Celebration of the World Habitat Day this year will be held in Mexico and will focus on “Cities and Climate Change”. Following the Cancun outcomes on Climate Change talks and in the lines of the preparations for the Rio+20 Earth Summit of June 2012, this topic indicates that the challenges related to climate change at local and global level cannot be addressed in a sustainable manner without a good governance in the cities and towns, where human activity accounts for around 40-70% of the greenhouse gas emissions.
The Brussels celebration of the World Habitat Day will include the European official launch of the UNHABITAT Global Report on Human Settlements 2011: Cities and Climate Change.
