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Press release
Poznan, Poland, 11 December 2008 / Local governments are offering national governments their partnership to limit global warming as nations gather at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan to negotiate a new global climate agreement.
Mayors and local governments started taking action on climate change before the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in 1997, reducing local missions by more than 60 million tons since 1992. Lady Mayor Baerbel Dieckmann from the City of Bonn stated: We in the cities can act - very fast and very efficiently - by building regulations, investments in energy efficiency, greening municipal fleets and providing efficient public transport. In the current financial crisis, we should use climate protection as a motor for economy.
Since 2007, cities have mirrored the UN Climate Roadmap in a process called the Local Government Climate Roadmap. They have been advocating for a comprehensive post-2012 climate agreement, which will determine the next phase of what is currently the Kyoto Protocol.
As part of this international movement of local governments and based on the experience already accumulated over many years, the European local and regional government associations and networks have joined forces to request the recognition of their contributions to the chievement of commitments in the Poznan and Copenhagen outcomes. They propose the Covenant of Mayors, a new initiative from the European Commission, as one possible model for strategic partnerships between nations and local authorities. Such partnerships should include empowerment and resources as well as enabling regulations and framework conditions for the local level. Ronan Dantec, Vice-Mayor of Nantes Metropole and board member of Climate Alliance, proposed to use revenues from carbon rights auctioning to fund local action.
Local governments are committed to contribute their part: Mayors around the world are signing the World Mayors and Local Government Climate Agreement, or, in Europe, commit to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 10% every five years by joining the Climate Alliance.
Cities are home to 50% of the world's population; where up to 80% of all energy is consumed. Cities are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, particularly the fast growing cities in developing countries. But cities are also part of the solution, an opportunity that should not be missed. David Cadman, Councillor of the City of Vancouver and president of ICLEI underlined, that local governments will not accept failure of the negotiations and Klaus Bondam, Environmental Mayor of the City of Copenhagen, invited for the next United Nations Climate Change Conference in his city, but promised not to let the parties leave before a strong agreement has been reached.
Media inquiries: Ulrike Janssen, u.janssen(at)climatealliance.org
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The Climate Alliance of European Cities with Indigenous Rainforest Peoples / Alianza del Clima is Europe's largest city network dedicated to climate protection. The 1400 members have entered into a partnership with indigenous rainforest peoples to protect the world's climate. The city network was founded in 1990 with the mission to elaborate and implement local climate protection measures especially in the fields of energy and mobility and to cooperate with indigenous peoples to protect the tropical rainforests.
Climate Alliance / Klima-Bündnis / Alianza del Clima e.V.
European Secretariat
Galvanistr. 28, D-60486 Frankfurt am Main
Tel. +49-69-717139-0, Fax +49-69-717139-93
europe(at)climatealliance.org
http://www.climatealliance.org
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