Focus 2015: French Embassy Forum of Communities for Urban Sustainability

March 5, 2015

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW THURSDAY START TIME: 10:30 AM (because of the inclement weather)

The French Embassy is hosting FOCUS 2015, a forum for U.S. and French decision makers to share their experiences and best practices in sustainable urban planning. The conference, which will be held over two days (March 5-6, 2015) in Washington, is open to elected officials, public administrators, academics, business and finance executives, NGO representatives, and others who are willing to engage in a problem-focused, goal-oriented discussion on how to tackle climate change in cities while promoting sustainability and economic growth. Participation is free of charge but seats are limited to 250. EESI is a sponsoring organization for the forum.

To register, please click here.

Cities are major players on sustainability issues and resiliency. Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions greatly depends on local government involvement. With this in mind, the conference will kick start a formal and long-term cooperation between officials and practitioners concerned with sustainable urban development in France and the United States. The tools, products and partnerships developed and shared at the forum will serve for the Paris Climate Conference in December 2015.

FOCUS 2015 will feature six concurrent workshops on Thursday, March 5: transportation and land use; energy; water and waste management; resiliency; urban policy and community empowerment; and methods and finance for sustainable cities. The workshop conclusions will be presented and discussed during a plenary session on Friday, March 6.

Speakers will include: