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United for Climate : 29 September 2015 - Council of Europe - Strasbourg (France)

9/10/2015

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Climate change threatens to undermine the lives of millions of people, causing instability and conflict. And we all know that the Climate Summit to be held in Paris in late December 2015 will be decisive: it will seal - or not - the commitment of States through the signing of a new treaty that will take over from the Kyoto Agreements. It will concern beyond the previous 12 parties, all UN members


The most vulnerable states will be the first affected by the climate change, the rise in temperature and sea level, drought, floods, effects on biodiversity and human health. These effects will impact on the enjoyment of human rights (right to life, food, health, water, travel in particular). Internal, but also regional and transcontinental migration pose difficult problems to solve without anticipation. It is indisputable that crises will occur to meet the needs of people as well as potential risks of denial of democracy in difficult times

This background and perspective prompted the Committee on Democracy, Social Cohesion and Global Challenges of the Conference of INGOs, in collaboration with the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Parliamentary Assembly, to settle a debate in which will be discussed European and global challenges linked to climate change from the perspective of human rights.

The event received the French Label

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Towards  COP21 : a step forward through the mobilisation of smart territories

9/9/2015

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More than a thousand people attended a three day conference on Smart cities and Smart Countries (S3C), last week,  in Paris. This important event intended to get together public and private actors involved in smart technologies.

A need for a citizen centric approach

PhotoAnne-Marie CHAVANON
"To be successful, a smart city must be citizen centric" This is one of the very first declarations supported by Anne-Marie Chavanon, Chair of the Committee on Democracy, at the  S3C Conference  where she was asked to see smart cities in the light of democracy and participation.

The real issue, today, in our countries, she said, is the return of confidence brought by citizens to politicians. Many stakeholders and many applications define users as "first sensor" : Is therefore the user, to be a subject or a connected object ? What guarantee do we offer to respect  private life ? How far to go in protecting the personal data? What about, for instance, the profiling of users in order to anticipate their behaviour? She asked.

According to her, smart technologies are undoubtedly prominent and revolutionary
simplification tools of daily life, offering new interaction possibilities with the governants, particularly mayors and municipal services. Yet, she pointed out three prerequisites:
  1. a need for transparency about tools and content
  2. a deep concern for inclusiveness of those who do not want or cannot use digital tools, due to language, disability or age reasons. 
  3. the need of a charter of ethics to help countries where freedom  and   Human rights can be at stake

    We are
    approaching the COP 21, she concluded : undoubtedly smart technologies will usefully contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases yet  they can only do so with the participation of citizens, not as "sensors" but as "actors". She stressed that in order to be sustainable "a smart governance requires first and foremost a 
    shared governance"

    The Governants involved in the Conference adopted a declaration quite relevant in the light of the Council of Europe high principles

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    Photo
    Français
    Picture
    Palais de l'Europe
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    Radek Maly, Jose Mendes Bota, Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni, Anne-Marie Chavanon, Lord Georges Foulkes, Anna Rurka, Christine de la Maisonneuve, Michel Ballereau
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    Agora Building - Council of Europe

    Texts on climate by the committee

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    Link to the dedicated website
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    Living together in multicultural societies : respect, dialogue, interaction

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    The European Local Democracy Week (ELDW) is organized, every year, in October in Europe and beyond. It offers an opportunity to joint actions with local and regional authorities and involvement of citizens

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