MEDIA RELEASE: C40 Cities Green & Healthy Streets pledge

Suzanne Orr MLA to introduce a motion for Canberra to be a signatory city to the C40 Cities Green & Healthy Streets pledge.

The motion calls on the Chief Minister to sign the C40 Green & Healthy Streets declaration for the city of Canberra.

Signatory cities are committed to transforming their cities into greener, healthier, and more prosperous places to live, with a focus on increasing the rates of walking and cycling and the use of public and shared transport that is accessible to all citizens.

In 2017, C40 Cities launched the Green and Healthy Streets Accelerator where signatories pledged to procure only zero-emission buses from 2025 and ensure a major area of their city is zero emission by 2030.

Ms Orr is excited for Canberra to be the first city in Australia to be a signatory city to the C40 Green & Healthy Streets.

“I am very proud for Canberra to be the first to sign the C40 Green & Healthy Streets declaration, it will encourage us to be more focused on making Canberra more climate and people friendly”, Says Ms Orr.

The commitments of the C40 Green & Healthy Streets pledge will push the ACT Government to do more on this area of work, and Ms Orr sees this as an opportunity for Canberra to be better recognised by international cities for all the work we do. 

“It is an honor to be a part of this ACT Government that invests in clean and reliable transport, priorities active travel options for the community, and understands the importance of greener and healthier streets,” says Ms Orr.

Major cities including Amsterdam, London and Paris have already signed the pledge, and are currently working to implement the pledges goals.

As part of signing the pledge, signatory cities make a commitment to report on their progress to achieve these outcomes every two years.

The motion will be introduced to the ACT Legislative Assembly on Tuesday 9 May 2023.

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