15 October 2014
UNECE Agrees on Charter on Sustainable Housing
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The Committee on Housing and Land Management (CHLM) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) agreed on the text of a Charter on Sustainable Housing during its annual session.

Among the actions called for by the Charter are reducing the carbon footprint of buildings, increasing their energy efficiency, integrating green housing policies into urban and territorial development, improving access to basic utilities and services such as safe drinking water and sanitation, improving the resilience of buildings to natural and human-generated hazards, bringing workplaces and services into closer spatial relations to housing, providing universal access to green and public spaces, and promoting secure tenure.

UNECE8 October 2014: The UN Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Committee on Housing and Land Management (CHLM) has agreed on the text of a Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing. While technically nonbinding, the Charter represents a political commitment by the 56 UNECE Member States to address a wide variety of environmental, health and social issues associated with housing, and provides guidelines and benchmarks for monitoring progress. It also supports policies and actions, and encourages international cooperation at all levels. The text was agreed during the Committee’s 75th session, held on 8-9 October 2014, in Geneva, Switzerland.

As agreed by the CHLM, the Charter is based on four principles: environmental protection; economic security; social inclusion and participation; and cultural identity. These principles are intended to support a housing sector in the UNECE region that is focused on: promoting environmental sustainability; being the foundation of a vibrant economy; increasing access to decent, adequate, affordable and healthy housing; and better meeting the needs of all citizens, including the vulnerable.

Among the actions called for by the Charter are reducing the carbon footprint of buildings, increasing their energy efficiency, integrating green housing policies into urban and territorial development, improving access to basic utilities and services such as safe drinking water and sanitation, improving the resilience of buildings to natural and human-generated hazards, bringing workplaces and services into closer spatial relations to housing, providing universal access to green and public spaces, and promoting secure tenure.

Elena Szolgayovà, CHLM Chair, said the Charter is a practical contribution to the post-2015 development agenda, as it provides a blueprint to better living conditions, reduced emissions and environmental impact and fairer societies. UNECE expects the Charter to be a tool to support the implementation of the relevant aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on cities and human settlements.

The Charter will be submitted to UNECE’s Executive Committee (EXCOM) for its review before being sent for adoption by the biennial session of the full Commission scheduled for 14-16 April 2015. If adopted by the full Commission, the Charter would constitute a UNECE contribution to the Third UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), which is scheduled for 2016. The Charter also will be reported to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which may spark the interest of other UN regions in undertaking similar exercises. [UNECE Press Release] [HLM Session Webpage][IISD RS Sources]


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