Europe is the leading continent in terms of promoting sustainable development.

  The beginning of the European process of sustainable development can be considered the Aalborg  The Charter, which was approved by the participants of the European Conference on the Sustainable Development of Cities and Towns in Europe, held in Aalborg (Denmark) May 24-27, 1994. The conference was sponsored by the European Commission and the city of Aalborg. The conference organizer is the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). The Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, together with the Ministry of Urban Development and Transport of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), took responsibility for the preparation of the draft Charter. The Charter reflects the ideas and formulations proposed by a large number of participants. The Aalborg Charter was originally signed by 80 European local authorities and 253 representatives of international organizations, national governments, scientific institutions, consultants and individuals. By signing the Charter, representatives of cities and towns and districts pledged to get involved in the process of preparing local “Agenda 21” and develop long-term action plans for the transition to sustainable development, and also initiated the creation of the “Sustainable Development of European Cities” Campaign. The city of Pushkin was the first signatory of the Charter from the Russian Federation.