Today, C40 announced that the Steering Committee has voted unanimously to extend current chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes’ tenure by one year, through 2016.
Mayor Paes has achieved significant accomplishments since his tenure began in 2014, including expanding C40 membership to 13 cities, bringing C40's total membership to more than 75 cities, with an emphasis on cities in China and the global south; pushing for city diplomacy and the global Compact of Mayors; focusing on climate finance; and his success advancing the long-term sustainability in Rio.
“I am deeply honoured by this opportunity to be C40 Chair for an additional year, and I look forward to continuing my work with international mayors, businesses, NGOs and the C40 team,” said C40 Chair, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes. “It has been a great privilege to help lead the global conversation on cities and climate change and create the cities of the future. I have always believed that to be liveable, cities must be four things: environmentally friendly, adept at dealing with mobility and integration, socially integrated, and technologically advanced. I am proud that C40 is helping cities around the world take tangible action in this critical direction.”
Mayor Eduardo Paes visited the construction site of the redevelopment of a viaduct connecting the South Zone to the West Zone. The new Joá Road will include a bike lane of 3.100 meters, that will have a breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean. It will be the first connection between the two zones via a bike lane.
Members of C40's Steering Committee celebrated Mayor Paes' extension:
"Under the leadership of Mayor Paes, C40 has continued to strengthen its reputation as a results-driven and truly global network of cities working together to tackle climate change and increase urban resilience,” said Mayor Mauricio Macri of Buenos Aires. “I was proud to stand beside him at the first-ever C40 Latin American Mayors Forum in Buenos Aires, and I look forward to working closely with him as we mayors strive to create a more sustainable future for urban citizens everywhere."
“Mayor Paes understands that the African continent is acutely vulnerable to the ravages of climate change due to multiple stressors and low adaptive capacity. He particularly understands many of the challenges faced by metropolitan cities on the continent – like the city of Johannesburg in South Africa – and the demand for our cities to develop in a way that is sustainable, economically viable and socially beneficial,” said Mayor Parks Tau of Johannesburg. “It has been a pleasure collaborating with Mayor Paes to find collective solutions and share best practice. I am confident that he will lead C40 and our cities through these challenging and critical times we face today, and will continue to ensure that cities remain on the global climate change agenda.”
To read the full press release, click here.
For more on Mayor Paes’ work as C40 chair, click here.
To learn about Mayor Paes’ vision for C40, click here.