Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact Holds Second Annual Summit

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Pictured (l to r): Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natacha Seijas; Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez; Cyrus Bhedwar, Southeast Regional Manager, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability U.S.A., Inc.;  Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs;  Monroe County Commissioner George Neugent; Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorenson; Palm Beach County Administrator Bob Weisman; and Monroe County Commissioner Sylvia J. Murphy.

Pictured(l to r): Assistant County Administrator Jon Van Arnam, Palm Beach Gardens Mayor David Levy and County Administrator Bob Weisman at the 2010 Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit.

Attendees visit the Broward County booth to check out green promotional items.

Representatives from Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties gathered in downtown Miami on October 29 for the second annual Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit. The event kicked off with a welcome message from Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez and a challenge to participants by District 13 Commissioner Natacha Seijas to continue their climate-change efforts.

The four-county Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact received the 2010 International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Sustainability Leadership Award for process innovation in a large community. County Administrator Bob Weisman accepted the award on Palm Beach County’s behalf. The ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability USA is the leading local government association addressing climate change and sustainability.

Immediately following the awards ceremony, speakers from the ICLEI provided updates citing the difficulty with federal government involvement with green initiatives and stressing the importance of continuing the effort locally. The summit concluded with a panel of experts discussing the organizations’ individual contributions to climate-change issues and answering questions and comments from the audience.

Next year’s summit will be held in Key Largo and hosted by Monroe County.