2014
Tuesday
July
22

“Let’s have fun doing it!” Mayor of Bristol’s Exclusive Interview with the Covenant of Mayors Office

In Bristol, where a local currency has been set up to benefit the city’s businesses and overall prosperity, community engagement is very high in all spheres of society and sustainable energy is no exception. Sustrans, the British charity to promote sustainable transport was formed in Bristol in 1977, among other major associations. “Bristol is full of individuals who make the city what it is” and has great ambitions, which according to Ferguson are two key components to become a European Green Capital city. The mayor also believes a “family” of such green capitals should be formed, to spread the word across the world. The current 2014 title is held by a Covenant signatory (Copenhagen), and so will be the 2016 one as it was just announced that the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana will take over after Bristol.

During this 4 minute interview, the Mayor of Bristol also addresses the questions of health improvement, job creation in the energy sector, fuel poverty and the rich people’s duty to consume their fair quantity of resources and reduce energy consumption in line with the average.

In his concluding remarks, Ferguson explains how “working with the Covenant of Mayors can share our experience; we can learn from each other and steal from each other”. Addressing the EU specifically, he goes on to say that “the cities are where the changes are going to be made, so please listen to us, work with and we will work very closely with you”.