As the role of cities and human settlements in the Paris Agreement was discussed today at COP22, the moment to highlight the relationship between cities and climate change is now.

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy will formalize city-focused climate action under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Global Covenant of Mayors will become operational on the 1st of January 2017.

The Covenant of Mayors (CoM) was launched in 2008 by the European Commission. The EU Covenant of Mayors has already been globalizing and has committed to slash emissions by 27 percent by 2020 — higher than some national cuts promised in the Paris Agreement.

An analysis of the first 315 implementation reports of the EU Covenant of Mayors (representing 25.5 million inhabitants of EU cities) reveals that 23 % of the cut in emissions had already been achieved in 2014.

Following the same model, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy will be the world’s largest coalition of mayors promoting and supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and move to a low-carbon economy. Encompassing more than 7,100 cities from 119 countries and six continents, representing more than 600 million inhabitants, over 8% of the world’s population.

This will be the world’s largest coalition of mayors promoting and supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and move to a low-carbon economy.

Additionally, the 2018 Cities and Climate Change Science Conference was announced. The conference will bring together representatives from academia, research organisations and agencies; concerned member states of the United Nations; city and regional governments; and urban and climate change practitioners, to identify existing research and gaps, and generate new data and research on climate impacts and solutions at the local level.

“We are entering a new era for cities,” said Debra Roberts, Co-Chair of the IPCC Working Group II. “Cities are the real opportunity to bend the curve — whether it’s on ambitious adaptation or mitigation action, they are the location where the action materializes, where the decisions on resource flows are made. In the next 20 to 50 years, all big developmental decisions will be made in cities, so we need the global scientific debate to reflect more deeply on the finer, more nuanced scale of cities. The 2018 conference on climate change science and cities will be an exciting process of policy, science and practice evolving together.”

Urban densities yield many opportunities for low carbon living, such as the use of cycling paths or mass transport. A study by the International Energy Agency shows that, in the United States, energy use per capita of city residents is slightly lower than the national average.

By contrast, in China, per capita energy use of city residents is double the national average, due to higher average incomes and better access to modern energy services.

Cities have a responsibility to create solutions to climate change. Fortunately, they also have a real capacity – and will – to do so. Acting both locally and collaboratively, cities are making a meaningful global impact by implementing sustainability practices. Each city is unique in its infrastructure, scope of control over municipal services, technical savvy and even progress in addressing climate change.

Here’s what Progress some Cities have made

San Francisco, US

As one of the most sustainable cities in the U.S., San Francisco has plans to move to zero waste by 2020. The city currently recycles or composts 77% of its waste, the highest rate of any major U.S. city.

Sydney, Australia

This Australian city has planned a large-scale scheme to have every resident be within a 250m walk of continuous green links that connect to major city parks.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

This African metropolis is using low-carbon building designs in an enormous construction programme that is moving a large population from unplanned ‘shanty towns’ into more formal living arrangements.

Bangkok, Thailand

Highly threatened by climate change, including an increase in extreme weather and heatwaves, the city has introduced a number of ambitious local public health infrastructure and education programmes.

London, England

Having signed the Clean Bus Declaration of Intent, demonstrating their commitment to reduce emissions and improve air quality by incorporating low and zero-emission buses in their fleets, London has already secured a 10 percent reduction in the average price of a hybrid bus.

Sources –

http://www.c40.org/press_releases/2018-cities-and-climate-change-science-conference-announced-at-cop22

https://www.bbhub.io/mayors/sites/14/2016/06/Global-Covenant-of-Mayors-Press-Release-FINAL.pdf

Correction – An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that under the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy instead of the EU Covenant of Mayors, cities have committed to cut their emissions by 27 percent by 2020, and that in 2014, they had already achieved a reduction of 23 percent.