Tag: C40 Voices

By Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40

The launch of Mission 2020 should be welcomed by everyone who understands why tackling climate change is humanity’s most urgent task. Its focus is getting us over the first hurdle in the race to exit the Fossil Fuel Age and move into a greener, cleaner, climate-safe era for humanity. C40, which launched its own ‘Deadline 2020’ program a few months ago, will certainly be getting right behind Mission 2020.

C40 recently partnered with the Addis Ababa Road and Transport Bureau to deliver a two-day workshop to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction benefits for Addis Ababa’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system. A total of 18 representatives from the Addis Ababa Road and Transport Bureau, Transport Authority, Institute of Technology and the Environmental Protection Authority learned how to use available data and make assumptions to demonstrate the impact of BRT’s forecasted operations, construction and manufacturing on emissions.

BY C40 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARK WATTS: A few months ago I wrote about how mayors are changing the way we think about food. Mayors are leading a revolution to improve the systems of how food is procured, produced, distributed, while minimising and managing food waste; through C40, they are working together to share best practices and new strategies.

This week, as the UN members gather for their General Assembly, I’m participating in a panel discussion on Urban Food Systems, hosted by our partners the EAT Forum, which continues to reinforce the effectiveness of global collaboration among cities. The message that I’ll be sharing is straightforward: climate change is the biggest issue facing us at this time, and cities offer a great platform to bring about change. 

By 2030, China is expected to have more than one billion urban dwellers, placing increasing pressures on the country’s cities and leaders to think innovatively in taking action against climate change. Fortunately, writes C40's Zach Tofias, Chinese cities are already stepping up, with the help of the C40 network. 

Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40, looks back on the success of COP21 and ahead to what it will take to implement the Paris Agreement, and introduces C40's interview with U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael Bloomberg during the 2015 C40 Cities Awards in Paris.