Tag: Paris

Nuestras ciudades están en el frente de la crisis del cambio climático. La subida del nivel del mar amenaza a millones de ciudadanos con inundaciones y, a su vez, los inviernos más fríos y los veranos más calurosos afectan especialmente a las zonas más vulnerables de nuestras ciudades. Las emisiones nocivas de los vehículos que circulan por el centro de nuestras ciudades contaminan el aire que respiran nuestros hijos. 

Nos villes sont en première ligne de la crise du changement climatique. L’élévation du niveau de la mer menace des millions de personnes avec des inondations, pendant que des hivers plus froids et des étés plus chauds accablent les plus vulnérables de nos villes. Les émissions nocives des véhicules qui roulent dans nos centres urbains polluent l’air que nos enfants respirent.

Our cities are on the frontline of the climate change crisis. Rising sea levels threaten millions of citizens with flooding, while colder winters and hotter summers take their toll on the most vulnerable in our cities. The noxious emissions from vehicles passing through our city centres pollute the air that our children breathe. 

The decision this week by European leaders to fast-track ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is historic. It is now certain that less than one year will have passed from the beginning of the COP21 climate negotiations in December 2015 to the moment when the Paris Agreement will come into force. These weeks and months are when the nations of the world stared over the precipice of catastrophic climate change and chose to act. By standards of international diplomacy, the ratification of the Paris Agreement has been remarkably swift. Leaders of the many nations who have ratified the deal deserve our praise and gratitude. From the biggest emitters, China, the United States and the European Union, to the smallest Island nations that are most at risk from the effects of climate change, each has recognized the scale of the threat we face and acted with commendable speed.

More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas (by 2050 this number is expected to rise to two thirds) and cities are responsible for more than 70 percent of global energy related carbon dioxide emissions.