Tag: Mark Watts

Today, C40 Chair-Elect, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo launched “Cap sur la COP22,” a public exhibition that showcases actions cities, citizens and local businesses take every day to combat climate change. In the large photograph installations along the Seine river, “Cap sur la COP22” highlights the accomplishments a number of C40 cities have achieved since the Paris Agreement and the challenges that lie ahead. 

Note: this article was originally published on EcoWatch.

By Mark Watts, Executive Director, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
& Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability

When UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael R. Bloomberg suggested creating a Compact of Mayors to mirror the UN programme for national commitments on climate change, it was not possible to guess how central the idea would become to putting mayors at the heart of global climate action. But it turned out to be a game changer.

Citizens in most of the world’s cities might expect their mayor to take responsibility for collecting waste, running public transport, or regulating new development, but they might not consider food to be an issue for urban local government. Yet in October 2015, when Mayor of Milan Giuliano Pisapia called upon his fellow mayors to sign the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, 120 cities from around the world, including London, Mexico City, Quito and Shanghai, chose to join forces in an effort to build sustainable and equitable urban food systems. This incredible show of commitment by mayors is an indication of how critical food production and consumption is becoming to protecting our climate, and the health and well-being of urban citizens.

Note: The following text has been adapted from Boston Mayor Marty Walsh's speech today at The Second China-U.S. Climate-Smart Low-Carbon Cities Summit in Beijing. 

Almost every country in the world is becoming more urban. We can say now, as much as ever, that cities are the future. 

This is a trend—one of many—that is bringing China and the United States closer together. As we become more urban, we become more connected: through technology, through economic relations, through cultural exchange. Therefore as cities, we take on greater ability—and greater responsibility—to collaborate, to innovate, and to lead together on the world’s hardest challenges.

Good ideas that get cities results are worth replicating. Sounds simple enough. But when it comes to scaling up and investing in sustainable urban solutions, it’s complicated.