Mr. George W. Bush President of the United States of America

The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 United States of America Fax +1.202.456-2461 [email protected]

Dear Mr. President,

As Mayors, we would like to underline the dangers that our local communities, all located on delicate coastal areas, are facing due to global climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Our cities will be heavily affected, not only by the raising of the sea level, but also by the probable intensification of extreme climatic conditions. The case of Venice and its lagoon is a prime example. A world cultural and environmental heritage of mankind is destined to suffer tremendously, because of the intensification of periodical flooding, by the effects of global climate changes. Consequently, international support that Venice is receiving for its ordinary maintenance, much of it coming also from private donors from the United States, is bound to be rendered useless.

We are convinced that the role of National governments must be supported by the voice of local governments in order to tackle the task of reducing the dramatic effects on climate forecasted by international experts. We are aware of the important responsibilities that cities will have to face in order to contribute to this task, and we are committed to take rapid and cogent actions by orienting our urban policies towards reducing greenhouse emission, specifically in the fields of energy, transport and waste treatment.

But we need to feel that we are part of a global plan which cannot pretend to be successful without the essential role of your Country. This is why we feel that we have to express our deepest concern about the position that your administration has recently assumed towards the Kyoto Protocol. We are convinced that the Kyoto Protocol should not be discarded but reviewed and improved by exploiting its globality and flexibility.

We urge you to reconsider your position. We are confident that you are going to assume a leading and proactive role in fighting against global warming by contributing to create the reference framework within which we, as mayors of some of the more important coastal cities in the world, are going to concentrate the efforts of our local policies.

Sincerely,

Paolo Costa Mayor of Venice - Italy Member of the European Parliament (June 20, 2001)

Cesar Maia Mayor of Rio de Janeiro – Brazil (June 25, 2001)

Abdel Mounim Ariss Mayor of Beirut – Lebanon (June 25, 2001)

Kari Nenonen Mayor of Oulu – Finland (June 26, 2001)

Ormir Rusi Mayor of Shkodra – Albania Vice President of Albanian Mayors Association (June 27, 2001)

Tarso Genro Mayor of Porto Alegre – Brazil (June 27, 2001)

Alan Lloyd Mayor of Swansea Wales (UK) President of International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) (June 27, 2001)

Vido Bogdanovic Mayor of Dubrovnik – Croatia (June 27, 2001)

Joan Miquel Nadal I Malé Mayor of Tarragona – Spain (June 28, 2001)

Joan Clos Mayor of Barcelona – Spain President of World Associations of Cities and Local Authorities Coordination (WACLAC) (June 28, 2001)

Iñaki Azkuna Mayor of Bilbao – Spain (July 2, 2001)

Hirotaro Yamasaki Mayor of Fukuoka – Japan (July 3, 2001)

Mamadou Diop Mayor of Dakar – Senegal Member of the Parliament of Senegal (July 3, 2001)

Fabio Sturani Mayor of Ancona – Italy (July 3, 2001)

Giuseppe Pericu Mayor of Genoa – Italy (July 3, 2001)

Simeone di Cagno Abbrescia Mayor of Bari – Italy (July 3, 2001)

Miri Hoti Mayor of Durres – Albania (July 4, 2001)

Sarlis Chryssanthos Mayor of Corfù – Greece (July 4, 2001)

W.J. Deetman Mayor of The Hague The Netherlands (July 5, 2001)

Mohammad Hanif Mayor of Dhaka – Bangladesh (July 5, 2001)

Jacques Peyrat Mayor of Nice – France (July 5, 2001)

Russell Goodway Lord Mayor of Cardiff Wales (UK) (July 6, 2001)

Mary Jane C.Ortega Mayor of San Fernando Philippines (July 6, 2001)

Ivan Škarič Mayor of Split - Croatia (July 6, 2001)

Léona Dètiege Mayor of Antwerp – Belgium (July 9, 2001)

Omar El Bahraoui Mayor of Rabat – Morocco (July 9, 2001)

Job Cohen Mayor of Amsterdam The Netherlands (July 9, 2001)

Greg Nickels Mayor of Seattle Washington (USA) (January 25, 2002: also signed by former Seattle Mayor Paul Schell on July 9, 2001)

Dimitris Z. Archondakis Mayor of Rethymnon - Greece (July 10, 2001)

Eric Milligan Lord Provost of Edinburgh Scotland (UK) (July 10, 2001)

Walter Veltroni Mayor of Rome – Italy (July 11, 2001)

João Barroso Soares Mayor of Lisbon – Portugal (July 12, 2001)

Anibal Ibarra Mayor of Buenos Aires Argentina (July 12, 2001)

Andreas Dais Mayor of Igoumenitsa – Greece (July 13, 2001)

Mariano Arana Mayor of Montevideo – Uruguay (July 13, 2001)

Ken Livingstone Mayor of London – England (UK) (July 13, 2001)

Qassim Sultan Director General of Dubai Municipality United Arab Emirates (July 17, 2001)

Michael Mulcahy Lord Mayor of Dublin – Ireland (July 19, 2001)

Vojko Obersnel Mayor of Rijeka – Croatia (July 20, 2001)

Jens Kramer Mikkelsen Lord Mayor of Copenhagen Denmark (July 26, 2001)

Rosa Russo Jervolino Mayor of Naples – Italy (July 27, 2001)

Umberto Scapagnini Mayor of Catania – Italy (August 1, 2001)

Per Ditlev Simonsen Mayor of Oslo – Norway (August 6, 2001)

Richard Leese Leader of Manchester City Council England (UK) (August 9, 2001)

Alderman Peter Marais Mayor of Cape Town – South Africa (August 22, 2001)

Marc H. Morial Mayor of New Orleans Louisiana (USA)

(August 24, 2001)

Blas Aprile Mayor of Mar del Plata Argentina (August 27, 2001)

Jerry Brown Mayor of Oakland California (USA) (September 5, 2001)

Tõnis Palts Mayor of Tallinn – Estonia (September 5, 2001)

Jean – Paul L’Allier Mayor of Quebec – Canada (September 13, 2001)

Michael Feinstein Mayor of Santa Monica California (USA) (September 19, 2001)

Jim Soorley Mayor of Brisbane Queensland – Australia (September 18, 2001)

Shirley Dean Mayor of Berkeley California (USA) (September 25, 2001)

Moti Lal Mayor of Nausori - Fiji Islands (September 26, 2001)

Josephine M. Williams J.P. Mayor of Nadi - Fiji Islands (October 1, 2001)

Tadatoshi Akiba Mayor of Hiroshima - Japan (October 1, 2001)

Ying – jeou Ma Mayor of Taipei – Taiwan (October 5, 2001)

Cr. Lakshman Prasad Maharaj Mayor of Lautoka - Fiji Islands (October 11,2001)

Pradeep Singh Mayor of Labasa - Fiji Islands (October 11, 2001)

Frank Chang-ting Hsieh Mayor of Kaohsiung – Taiwan (October 11, 2001)

Kazutoshi Sasayama Mayor of Kobe - Japan (October 12, 2001)

Kevin Byrne Mayor of Cairns Queensland – Australia (October 12, 2001)

Dannel P. Malloy Mayor of Stamford Connecticut (USA) (November 5, 2001)

Willie L. Brown, Jr. Mayor of San Francisco California (USA) (November 16, 2001)

Mara Giulianti Mayor of Hollywood Florida (USA) (November 20, 2001)

Joel T. Daves Mayor of West Palm Beach Florida (USA) (November 21, 2001)

Joe Schreiber Mayor of Tamarac Florida (USA) (November 30, 2001)

Jeremy Harris Mayor of Honolulu Hawaii (USA) (December 7, 2001)

Thomas M. Menino Mayor of Boston Massachusetts (USA) (January 3, 2002)

Christopher Krohn Mayor of Santa Cruz California (USA) (January 14, 2002)

Mary Jane Carr Lord Mayor of Newcastle upon Tyne England (UK) (February 6, 2002)

Marty Blum Mayor of Santa Barbara California (USA) (February 13, 2002)

Lee P. Brown Mayor of Houston Texas (USA) (March 11, 2002)

Paul D. Novack Mayor of Surfside Florida (USA) (April 19, 2002)

David Dermer Mayor of Miami Beach Florida (USA) (May 17, 2002)