By Judy Sheahan
September 9, 2002

Burlington Mayor Peter Clavelle spoke on August 30, at a plenary session, during the Local Government meeting, a parallel event to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Clavelle talked about the important role local governments play in sustainable development, the necessity to have the proper tools from the national and state governments to help promote sustainability, and what Burlington was doing to create a more livable community.

Clavelle said that a vital component in promoting sustainable development was the importance of all levels of government working together to have a more clear vision of "who is responsible for what." He also said that both national and state governments need to recognize the critical role that local governments play in sustainable development. He said that it was critical that local government be given the proper tools to implement a sustainable development strategy.

"Local governments are responsible for most of the heavy lifting that is needed to implement sustainable development," Clavelle said, "because at the local level, we can not keep passing the buck to someone else - it is ultimately, up to us."

Clavelle told the audience of the importance of involving all citizens in the creation of a vision for their community. "Although it is not always easy to engage everyone, it is vital that we include as many people as possible, including children and the poor, to participate in the process," Clavelle said.

Clavelle talked about Burlington's commitment to create a sustainable community through such activities as "greening his budget" through eco-procurement practices, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating alternatives to automobile traffic, and revitalizing the downtown.

Clavelle ended his remarks by urging all participants to adopt the Earth Charter, a proclamation that was endorsed by The U.S. Conference of Mayors- 2001 Annual Meeting in Detroit.