As mayors and city councilors seek solutions to climate change, existing policies and legislation can stand in the way of effective change.

The Carbon Charter is the first book to describe the municipal bylaws required to abate climate change and create sustainable communities. It provides city councilors with a cut-and-paste set of green bylaws and policies of best practices culled from environmentally advanced communities around the world. They can be taken straight out of the book, placed into a council agenda with minimum modification, and voted on.

The Carbon Charter provides city councilors with the ammunition they need to implement and accelerate sustainability initiatives quickly. The book describes bylaws that are applicable throughout the world, with the emphasis on examples that are beneficial to temperate climates such as the U.S. and Canada. It also proposes innovative new bylaws that are found nowhere else. This highly accessible, comprehensive handbook includes:

• Sample bylaws, case studies and background material and references
• Numbered QuickLinks that allow readers access to full bylaw texts and links
• Special icons that pinpoint target audiences, with bylaws relevant to each audience.

This book will appeal to city councilors and mayors, municipal planners, architects, and engineers world-wide.