The C40 Blog provides a platform for sharing important, diverse perspectives on
current issues from C40 mayors, experts, partners and international thought leaders.
The Race to Zero campaign was launched on June 5th, 2020 in a joint effort by Nigel Topping, UK COP26 Climate Champion and Gonzalo Muñoz, Chile COP25 Climate Champion to encourage cities, regions, businesses and investors to accelerate their commitments to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero no later than 2050. Thanks to C40’s Deadline 2020 programme, 116 cities have already committed to such global climate leadership, and as part of the Race to Zero, are setting the bar on what ambitious climate action means for cities.
C40 is committed to looking deeply at how we operate and the contribution we can make to dismantling the systems that perpetuate both racial and climate injustice.
Bringing together 96 cities representing more than 700 million people and one quarter of the global economy, C40 was founded by mayors, for mayors, to take ambitious climate action. C40 is now leading the charge for a Global Green New Deal — a series of essential steps to cut emissions, invest in clean energy, protect our natural resources, and ensure a just transition for all, and particularly the most disadvantaged.
The COVID-19 crisis has again laid bare the current inability of nation states to work with each other to solve global problems in the face of President Trump’s continuing assaults on international institutions. In stark contrast, the world’s mayors leading cities worst affected by the COVID-19 crisis have been strengthening collaboration based on good science, robust data and common human interest, building off a decade of co-operation to tackle climate change.
C40’s Participation Standards are guidelines for C40 membership and include a number of mandatory requirements such as setting an ambitious target for reducing GHG emissions, a climate action plan with concrete initiatives to meet the target as well as to increase urban climate resilience, and actively sharing best practice examples with other cities through C40’s Networks. It is now time to take a step back and acknowledge the great level of commitment, engagement and participation of our member cities in 2019!