Climate Summit for Local Leaders

What is the Climate Summit for Local Leaders?

The Climate Summit for Local Leaders is a historic gathering of global mayors, governors, world leaders, businesses, and civil society actors, aiming to bring a decisive contribution to the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) and highlight the significant role cities and regions playing in combating the effects of Climate Change.

Held on December 4th at Paris City Hall, the event is co-chaired by Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, and Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change.

The Summit is the first of its kind. Over 600 million citizens from all over the world will be represented by the 1000 attendees. It is the largest gathering of global mayors to discuss climate change and represents major progress in local and global leadership on climate policies. The sub-national leaders gathered at city hall, representing millions of citizens from cities around the world, will deliver a declaration of their commitments to UN negotiators at the end of the Summit. The declaration will demonstrate the power of cities in the fight against climate change and give them the recognition they deserve.

More than 1,000 leaders are confirmed to participate in the event, including:

• Ada Colau, Mayor of Barcelona • Al Gore, Founder and Chairman of The Climate Reality Project • Alain Juppé, Mayor of Bordeaux and former Prime Minister of France • Arnold Schwarzenegger, R20 Founding Chair • Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General, United Nations • Carolina Toha, Mayor of Santiago • Christian de Portzamparc, French architect and urbanist • Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) • Clover Moore, Mayor of Sydney • Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montreal • Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro • Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles • Eric Rondolat, CEO Philips Lighting • Hoesung Lee, Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) • Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University • Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul • Karin Wanngård, Mayor of Stockholm • Khalifa Sall, Mayor of Dakar • Manuela Carmena, Mayor of Madrid • Michael Müller, Governing Mayor of Berlin • Mpho Parks Tau, Mayor of Johannesburg • Park Won-soon, Mayor, City of Seoul and President, ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability • Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago

• Robert Redford, Actor and Trustee, National Resources Defense Council • Robin Chase, Co-founder, Zipcar

How are Cities and Local Leaders important in tackling Climate Change?

• The action is happening in Cities – Cities account for 70% of the world’s greenhouse gases and 70% of the world’s population are projected to live in urban areas by mid-century. Cities are where investment, innovation and action on climate change occur, and where communities can become more resilient and socially inclusive when facing this issue.

• Cities get the job done – Local governments can take faster and more decisive action to strengthen climate policies than their national counterparts.

• Cities try new approaches – Cities can test new, innovative and sustainable measures on a local level, which if successful, can be rolled out at the state level.

• Cities have the solutions– Local governments control a wide range of services - transport, infrastructure, water use and waste management – in which investment can significantly reduce emissions.

• Cities see the benefits – Tackling climate change is a growth opportunity for cities as it helps raise the standard of living for citizens and helps attract business.

• Cities are sharing ideas – Cities are working together more than ever before; sharing ideas, best practices and pooling resources. Today, cities are building strong partnerships to advance climate solutions around the world with public and private actors.. In March 2015, 30 European cities also agreed to use their collective purchasing power to invest in lower carbon public services.

Why is the Summit necessary in additional to COP21?

The actions and accomplishments of cities are only beginning to receive the attention they deserve. The Climate Summit for Local Leaders provides a unique opportunity to showcase the significant role cities play in tackling the effects of climate change.

The Summit will bring cities’ and local governments’ commitments new focus in the United Nations process, with attendants delivering a declaration of their commitments to UN negotiators at the end of the Summit.