International Programs
Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability (JIUS)
Visit from Brazilian Delegation
Learning about energy efficient homes - at the John S. and James L. Knight Green Jobs Training Center, Philadelphia.
On January 13, 2012, Administrator Jackson joined Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter to host a Brazilian delegation led by Izabella Teixeira, Brazilian Minister of the Environment, to advance the JIUS.
View a Video of Administrator Jackson and Minister Teixeira speaking at public session. 
In August 2011, EPA Administrator Jackson established the Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability (JIUS) in Brazil, with representatives from Brazil’s Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the State of Rio de Janeiro, the City of Rio de Janeiro, the City of Philadelphia, and representatives from the US and Brazilian private, academic and civil society sectors.
The JIUS brings together government, community and industry leaders from the US and Brazil to find innovative ways to generate economic growth, create decent jobs, eradicate poverty and protect the environment by focusing on increasing investment in green infrastructure and city-scale green technology strategies. President Obama and Brazilian President Rousseff place a high priority on green economies.
Minister Izabella Teixeira, Administrator Jackson and Mayor Nutter join to launch the US-Brazil Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability in Rio de Janeiro in August 2011.
The JIUS aims to:
- Increase the visibility and expanding opportunities for the implementation of current niche market technologies
- Identify emerging public and private sector opportunities to improve the urban environment.
- Mobilize innovative financing based on sustainable design principles to capture untapped economic, environmental, climate, and health benefits
Over the next 6 months, leading up to Rio+20, the JIUS will match community needs with actions to develop urban infrastructure with concrete economic, social and environmental benefits.
The JIUS may also engage the international financial sector to shift investment practices to spur more strategic innovative urban investments around the world.
US-Brazil cooperation offers the potential for joint global leadership on innovative investment in green economies and smart cities.