Building back greener and fairer
Every three years, C40 mayors come together to make commitments, hold each other accountable, and set the agenda for city climate action on the global stage.
The C40 World Mayors Summit 2022 in Buenos Aires took place just weeks before COP27, at a moment when cities were emerging from the pandemic and facing pressure to deliver both economic recovery and climate action.
Mayors used the Summit to show these goals weren’t in conflict: that investing in climate action could create good, green jobs, improve health, and build fairer cities. The Summit focused on three pillars: a fair and inclusive pandemic recovery, wellbeing in cities, and the urgent need for climate finance, particularly for Global South cities on the front lines of climate impacts.
Committing to 50 million good, green jobs
The Summit’s headline announcement was a commitment by C40 mayors to drive the creation of 50 million good, green jobs by 2030. C40 research showed that targeted climate action would create over 30% more jobs than a business-as-usual approach, while also reducing air pollution by up to 30% and delivering around USD 280 billion in health-related economic benefits across C40 cities.
Key highlights from the Summit
Good, green jobs: C40 mayors committed to driving the creation of 50 million good, green jobs by 2030, with cities setting out actions on energy-efficient buildings, clean public transport, and renewable energy.
Global South investment: C40 announced record investment in Global South cities, projected to access over USD 1 billion to tackle the climate emergency. Additional funding was confirmed from the German, French and UK governments to support 15 projects in 13 cities that cut approximately 2.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Youth: The largest-ever C40 Global Youth and Mayors Forum brought together 60 international youth leaders, launching the first global network of city-youth climate councils. C40 also launched Students Reinventing Cities and announced Schools Reinventing Cities with Minecraft.
Waste: 13 Global South cities signed up to C40’s Pathway Towards Zero Waste, committing to slash waste emissions and reduce methane by up to a million tonnes per year.
Clean energy: C40 and Google launched the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy for Cities programme, with London, Copenhagen and Paris as pilot cities.
Climate migration: London, Amman and São Paulo joined the Global Mayors Task Force on Climate and Migration. Mayors called on national governments to increase adaptation finance to 50% of total climate finance.
C40 Bloomberg Awards: The 2022 C40 Cities Bloomberg Philanthropies Awards recognised climate leadership in Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Beijing, Pune, Dhaka North, Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, Freetown, São Paulo, Seattle and Tokyo/Kuala Lumpur.
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