The coverage – sometimes excessive coverage – of news items, such as the Grenelle de l’Environnement – an event that is acting as a political communication tool – that took place a year ago, could, to the detriment of the movement, have a pernicious effect and lead to a rejection on the part of the population, who do not possess the means to understand such complex questions, in particular concerning climate change.

This recognition is all the more regrettable since the survival of plant and animal life – which includes the human being on this planet – depends upon comprehension of these issues.

We have said much about the pertinence of the different levels of political decision, international/global and local. It’s at the local level, without a doubt, that the interaction between citizens and politicians is most fertile since it is where territorial politics take place and where the participation of citizens can influence the process of political decision-making. ICT, to be understood in the largest sense of the word, can, in this situation, be considered as a tool, an instrument to be used by local politics to promote sustainable development.

One of the issues being explored is knowing how to build towns that reduce the digital and ecological divide and how ICT can contribute to the sustainable development of mobility and of towns – and even metropolises – whatever their size (ICT industry and its equipment that generates nuisance, which interrogates the social responsibility of public actors; the ICT industry as a tool to monitor and manage urban problems more effectively through forward planning and risk management).

In addition, it is necessary to ask what the new criteria for the sustainable digital development of territories are. In effect, territories can, through local dynamics, reinforce their development, and relations with businesses should be exploited. Businesses, consumers and citizens are becoming more and more attentive to the environmental image that drives urban politics, above all to its attractiveness, secondly to quality of life it entails (the virtualisation of services, of procedures, teleworking centres, participation of citizens through forums, wikis…) That is why it is essential to take into account the progress in the ICT field in development programs that local authorities initiate.

Cleaning away the cobwebs from territories in France and in Europe allowed us to discover an abundance of local initiatives that use ICT, showing that one can be ‘Green and connected’. There are many experiences to promote and to share.

There remain two fundamental questions: the real political momentum of the use of ICT to integrate sustainable development and the networks and structures that sustain these politics internally (an elected representative, a director of information systems, a general manager). Financing these new tools inevitably bring us to reflect upon the pertinence of the way in which our country has been carved up between territories.
The digital revolution is on its way. It is up to communities to play their part!

Ludovic Piron-Palliser,
Member of the Board of ACIDD,
Deputy director of the cabinet of François Dagnaud, from the Mayor of Paris.

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- Club Green and Connected Cities @ ICT2008 – Lyon, 25th-27th November 2008
Within the framework of ICT2008, a major event organised by the European Commission that is this taking place in Lyon this year, ACIDD invites you to participate on the 26th November 2008 from 2pm-3:30pm in the workshop that they are steering on the theme: "TIC21: Sharing initiatives from business leaders and local authorities for a green and connected city".
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-The digital and sustainable development of territories – National conference –10 December 2008 – Paris
In the presence of Michèle PAPPALARDO, General commissioner of sustainable development at Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Territories Development (MEEDDAT) and of Pierre DARTOUT, Inter-ministerial delegate for the development and competitiveness of territories (DIACT).
The risks that burden our environment are leading to profound changes in all aspects of people’s daily life (environment, mobility, activities, hobbies…) and changing relationships to territories (changes in scale of time and space.)
The new digital services offer credible, efficient and operational responses to the expressed needs in territories. Their deployment should also be the moment to incorporate sustainable development into the heart of territorial politics.
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- City of Paris: Interview with Magali Vergnet : “The ‘eco-city’ is the greatest stake at hand”
Magali Vergnet is director of the cabinet of François DAGNAUD, deputy to the Mayor of Paris, in charge of the organisation and functioning of the Paris Council, and of cleanliness and of waste management. Invested since long ago in the sustainable development sector, she likewise animates a network of sustainable development activists and last year produced a work entitled “Ville durable, mode d’emploi” (How to go about creating Sustainable Towns). Turning theory into practice, this is an interview with a technician on the ground.
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- Interview with Charles Secrett: “London has deployed the most ambitious climate plan.”
Charles Secrett worked for a long time alongside the ex-Mayor of London as climate and sustainable development advisor. He worked hard for sustainable mobility and new transport regulations in England’s capital. London is a pioneer in this field.
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- Education for sustainable development: in what European context?
The goal of the United Nations decade of education for sustainable development (2005-2014, DESD), for which UNESCO is the lead agency, is to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development in all aspects of education and learning. This educational effort will encourage changes in behaviour that will create a more sustainable future in terms of environmental integrity, economic viability, and a just society for present and future generations.
This can be done through four objectives:
– Facilitating the creation of networks, exchange and interaction between the active supporters of ESD
– Promoting a rise in the quality of teaching and learning in ESD
– Helping countries to progressively reach the millenium’s objectives in development
– Giving countries new ways to incorporate ESD in their reform policies
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