Lima, Quito and La Paz will launch the second phase of their Carbon and Water Footprint project, developing pilot actions to reduce their footprints, and will be joined by four additional cities.
The project, launched in 2013 by Fundación Futuro Latinoamericano, Climate & Development Knowledge Network and CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, assessed the carbon and water footprints of the municipal governments and helped design and develop climate change management initiatives.
The three cities developed baseline assessments that were used to identify and prioritise opportunities of improvement, including education and awareness for the proper use of resources (energy, water, paper, waste) in public servants and the population in general, and measures related to technological changes and policy development for footprint reduction.
Action plans have now been drawn up which include plausible footprint reduction targets for the cities in the short, medium and long-term, as well as a preliminary analysis of investment costs and the identification of potential funding sources.
According to the project leaders, the first phase has allowed for scaling up, allowing the methodology to be rolled-out in other cities.