Source: investing.com
Rome October 25. Local administrators of countries such as Mexico, Argentina, and Chile showed their support today, in an in-person and virtual forum organized in Rome, for advancing in the transition towards a circular economy to combat social inequality and the overexploitation of natural resources.
This occurred during the event entitled “Global and Local Challenges: The Role of Leadership of Circular Cities,” which is framed within the 10th Italy - Latin America and the Caribbean Conference promoted by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The event, organized at this time by the Enel energy group (MI:ENEI) in collaboration with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) and the Italo-Latin American Institute (IILA), allowed for reflection on the opportunities offered by circular economy for cities of the future.
Participating remotely were the mayor of Port of Spain, Joel Martinez, as well as the Sao Paulo Secretary for Urban Infrastructure and Works, Marcos Monteiro, and Assistant Manager for Environmental Strategy and Climate Change of Lima, Pamela Bravo, among others.
The mayor of Curridabat (Costa Rica), Jimmy Cruz Jiménez, also participating remotely, argued that the five local governments are working “to develop a waste management model based on the concept of circular economy and changing what has been known up to now as waste management,” while the Mexico City Secretary of the Environment, Marina Robles, also defended circularity as an opportunity for the region's cities of the future.
The Buenos Aires Minister of Public Spaces and Urban Hygiene, Clara Muzzio, illustrated the “Buenos Aires recycles” program, which “promotes responsible consumption,” and the governor of Santiago (Chile), Claudio Orrego, said that his city wants to become “the first in Latin America to have zero-emissions public transportation by 2030.”
The event also included another panel on the challenges of the urban transition, with the participation of the Adjunct Regional Director of UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean, Piedad Martín, who presented the Coalition for Circular Economy, a platform to support the transition to a circular economy from a life cycle assessment approach.
Meanwhile, the Enel Director for Latin America, Maurizio Bezzeccheri, highlighted that “the circular city is an exercise,” that must be carried out both in the public and private sector, “in order to redesign cities and all flows of materials and energy that go through them.”
The Secretary General of the IILA, Antonella Cavalli, defended the idea that Latin American cities “construct their economies in a sustainable manner and move towards a transformation of the production model,” and the Adjunct Executive Secretary of CEPAL, Mario Cimoli, presented on why circular cities are so useful in a region like Latin America, which has “agglomerations in the peripheries” and a “marked situation of inequality.”
Finally, President of the Enel Group, Michele Crisostomo, suggested a transition towards circularity in order to combat inequality and said that “a new paradigm of electricity is the foundation for the fight against climate change and recovery of the social fabric.”
Publication Url : https://es.investing.com/news/commodities-news/latinoamerica-apoya-avanzar-hacia-ciudades-circulares-contra-la-desigualdad-2174198