Read the French version here.
Paris, France (22 October 2017) — Mayors from more than 30 major cities including Paris, Tokyo, Barcelona, Cape Town and Quito met today with senior executives of some of the world’s largest companies, including Mastercard, Siemens and Volvo Bus Corporation in order to define solutions to the threats posed by climate change. The meeting was also addressed by Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, as leaders of the next three Olympic & Paralympic Games meet in Paris.
The first of its kind event – Together4Climate – allowed civic and business leaders to share ideas and drive ambition in creating communities that are cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable, while simultaneously growing the green economy and promoting innovation.
Together4Climate, organized by C40 Cities and the the We Mean Business coalition, focussed discussions on three policy areas that have the greatest potential for cities and businesses to deliver on the ambition of the Paris Agreement: mobility, energy and urban planning. Together4Climate was part of CityLab, an annual summit organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Atlantic and the Aspen Institute.
Under 500 cities will be responsible for 60% of global economic growth and 50% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission growth between now and 2030. At the same time, the 100 largest emitting companies in the world represent a quarter of global annual GHG emissions.
“Our C40 cities represent a quarter of the global economy, therefore we are a natural partner for business”, said Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris and Chair of C40. “We are no longer satisfied with the think global, act local approach, that was yesterday’s revolution. We value to think locally that we better act globally, that is today’s revolution. And today, we laid the foundations to make it happen through this strategic alliance between cities and business to foster climate action and clean the air of our cities.”
"Sustainability is now a key element for organising and hosting the Olympic Games,” said Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympics Committee. “If there is one message that I would like all the mayors to remember who are taking part today, it is that this is the new philosophy behind the Olympic Games. It is a philosophy that has sustainability and partnership at its heart."
"Durban is making great progress towards our emission reduction and climate goals but we cannot act alone", said Zandile Gumede, Mayor of Durban. “By bringing mayors and CEOs together in a room Together4Climate creates the opportunity for conversations and partnerships that will help us make the Paris Agreement a reality."
“With this initiative of gathering business and civic leaders to discuss the common mission for smart and sustainable cities, we can contribute to accelerate electrification of urban transport by sharing concrete ideas that help overcome hurdles for change and make sure cities can reap the benefits of mobility innovations that both tackle environmental risks and enable urban opportunities and quality of life,” said Håkan Agnevall, President Volvo Bus Corporation.
“As cities take climate action, they can do good for their residents and do well for their urban economies. By coming together as a private sector, we can make moving around cities more seamless and more sustainable,” said Hany Fam, EVP Enterprise Partnerships, Mastercard.
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About the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
C40 Cities connects more than 90 of the world’s greatest cities, representing 650+ million people and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban citizens. The current chair of the C40 is Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo; and three-term Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board. C40’s work is made possible by our three strategic funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and Realdania. To learn more about the work of C40 and our cities, please visit www.c40.org, follow us on Twitter @c40cities or Instagram @c40cities and like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities.