Today, at the C40 World Mayors Summit, the City of Istanbul signed onto C40’s Deadline 2020 initiative, a public commitment to develop and implement ambitious climate action plans in line with science-based targets to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 °C.
Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, said: “In Istanbul, at two local elections conducted in 2019, Istanbulites did not only stated with a loud and clear voice that they wanted to live in a more fair, green and creative city. They also put forward a clear will in terms of protecting the world against climate change for future generations. I am extremely glad to realise this will of 16 million Istanbulites with the letter of intent that I signed at the C40 World Mayors Summit, in Copenhagen.”
Istanbul is the 104th city to join the Deadline 2020 programme, which provides practical insights and solutions proven to reduce emissions and put cities on a path toward achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. The world’s leading scientists have said that emissions must peak globally by 2020 and drop drastically by 2030.
“The C40 World Mayors Summit is an opportunity to celebrate city climate action, but it is also a moment to highlight how much more must be done to address the climate emergency”, said C40 Executive Director Mark Watts. “Deadline 2020 provides the science-based insights and data necessary to help cities play their full part in averting climate crisis. We are thrilled that Istanbul will join other global cities in their work to create the resilient future we want.”