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Home , Chiara Appendino, Energy Cities, Giuseppe Sala, Lord Mayor, Mayor of Milan, Oulu

Cities call for a more sustainable and equitable European future

An open letter to the European Council and its Member States

President of the European Council, Heads of States and Governments of the Member States,

We, the undersigned and heads of local governments have come to urge the Heads of States and Governments of the Member States to commit the European Union (EU) and all European institutions to a long-term climate strategy with the objective of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 – when they meet at the Future of conference in , on 9 May, 2019.

The urgency of the climate crisis requires immediate action, stepping up our climate ambition and pursuing every effort to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C by mid-century, as evidenced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C. Current energy and climate policies in place globally, set the planet on a global warming pathway of 3°C. We are reminded of the inadequacy of our response to climate change, by the thousands of young people demonstrating each week on the streets of European cities - and around the world. We cannot let the status quo jeopardise their future and those of millions of European citizens. We owe it to the next generation to make more ambitious commitments to address climate change at all levels of government and in every aspect of European policy-making. We acknowledge and support the positions of the European Parliament and of the Commission to pursue net-zero emissions as the only viable option for the future of Europe and the world. Now, we believe that the European Council has a unique opportunity to deliver this vision.

We ask you to step up the EU’s climate commitments, to show global leadership and drive ambition to make appropriate and rapid progress in the implementation of the Agreement. We urge you to:

• Develop a just and inclusive European long-term climate strategy that enhances resilience and ensures emissions in the EU peak by 2020, more than halve by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050; • Enhance the 2030 EU climate and energy targets and Nationally Determined Contribution to ensure a resilient, rapid and just energy transition in line with the above goals; • Align the next EU long-term budget with this strategy, remove fossil fuel subsidies and mainstream climate action as a priority across all funding programmes; and • Commit all member states to binding net-zero emissions reduction targets and the above goals. We the mayors and heads of local governments stand ready to support and contribute to the climate leadership of Europe, as the impacts of climate change threaten the fair, equal and enduring access to opportunities that our great European cities offer. More than 9,000 cities have joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, of which nearly 8,000 in Europe. Many of us are already committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and have put in place city climate plans compatible with the Paris Agreement - many more are working towards it. Collectively, cities are paving the way towards 2050 with impactful actions by 2030 and by developing integrated strategies and adopting ambitious sectoral commitments. These include bold objectives to advance towards zero waste by 2030, to meet net-zero carbon standards in all buildings by 2050, to move towards 100% renewable electricity by 2035 and 100% in cities by 2050, and finally to deliver inclusive climate action that benefits all citizens equitably.

We, as mayors and heads of local governments, can play a central role in delivering on the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement, by developing and implementing ambitious local plans and working with citizens, business and civil society to achieve sustainable change. However, we need an enabling European framework and action by national government to guarantee long-term stability, determination and resources to support our climate efforts.

We hope that our leadership will inspire you to raise your ambition and give you confidence that net-zero emissions by mid-century is not only necessary and desirable – it is achievable if we work together. We encourage you to embrace this responsibility, and we, the mayors, will share the task of implementing it, for the benefit of European citizens and the wider world.

Signed by:

Anne Hidalgo Anna König Jerlmyr of Paris, France Mayor of , Chair of C40 Cities President of

Dr. Eckart Würzner Ashok Sridharan Mayor of Heidelberg, Mayor of Bonn, Germany President of Energy Cities President of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability Juan Espadas Mayor of Seville, Spain Giοrgos Patoulis Climate change spokesperson of CEMR Mayor of Amarousion, Greece

Thomas Kastrup-Larsen Femke Halsema Mayor of , Mayor of , Netherlands

Michalis Constantinides Evangelos Evangelides Mayor of Agros, Cyprus Mayor of Aradippou, Cyprus

Mircea Hava Alessandro Ghinelli Mayor of , Romania Mayor of Arezzo, Ralf Paul Bittner Daniel Tudorache Mayor of Arnsberg, Germany Mayor of București-Sectorul 1, Romania

Georgios Kaminis Mihai Toader Mayor of , Greece Mayor of București-Sectorul 2, Romania

Cosmin Necula Daniel Băluță Mayor of Bacău, Romania Mayor of București-Sectorul 4, Romania

Bernd Fuhrmann Gabriel Mutu Mayor of Bad Berleburg, Germany Mayor of București-Sectorul 6, Romania

Alexander Guhl Rafal Bruski Mayor of Bad Säckingen, Germany Mayor of Bydgoszcz,

Cătălin Cherecheș Milun Todorović Mayor of , Romania Mayor of Čačak, Serbia

Igor Radojićić Stjepan Kovač Mayor of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina Mayor of Čakovec, Croatia

Ada Colau Pietro Puccio Mayor of , Spain Mayor of Capaci , Italy

Brigitte Merk-Erbe Barbara Ludwig Lord Mayor of Bayreuth, Germany Mayor of , Germany

Harald Schjelderup Gabriela Staszkiewicz Governing Mayor of , Mayor of Cieszyn, Poland

Ian Ward Norbert Tessmer Leader of Birmingham City Council, United Lord Mayor of Coburg, Germany Kingdom Manfred Schnur Ovidiu Teodor Crețu District Administrator of Cohem-Zell, Germany Mayor of Bistrița, Romania Henriette Reker Lord Mayor of , Germany Mayor of , Italy Frank Jensen Patrick Bobet Lord Mayor of , Denmark President of Bordeaux Métropole, France Patrick Gerard Murphy Cătălin Mugurel Mayor of County Council, Ireland Flutur Mayor of Botoșani, Romania Stefan Löwl George Scripcaru District Administrator of Dachau, Germany Mayor of Brasov, Romania Jochen Partsch Matus Vallo Lord Mayor of Darmstadt, Germany Mayor of Bratislava, Slovakia JM Van Bijsterveldt-Vliegenthart François Cuillandre Mayor of Delft, Netherlands Mayor of Brest, France Nicolae-Florin Oancea Céline Fremault Mayor of Deva, Romania Minister of capital region, Belgium François Rebsamen Wim Dries Mayor of Dijon, France Mayor of Genk, Belgium

Leo Schrell Mathias De Clercq District Administrator of Dillingen an der Donau, Mayor of Ghent, Belgium Germany Axel Josefson Ulrich Sierau Mayor of , Sweden Mayor of Dortmund, Germany Dr. Stefan Fassbinder Paul Larue Mayor of Greifswald, Germany Mayor of Düren, Germany Eric Piolle Helga Stulgies Mayor of Grenoble, France Deputy Mayor of Düsseldorf, Germany Peter Vennemeyer John Jorritsma Mayor of Greven, Germany Mayor of Eindhoven, Netherlands Pauline Krikke Stefan Schlatterer Mayor of The Hague, Netherlands Lord Mayor of Emmendingen, Germany Andreas Henke Bastian Rosenau Lord Mayor of Halberstadt, Germany District Administrator of Enzkreis, Germany Claus Kaminsky Robert Herrmann Lord Mayor of Hanau, Germany President of Strabourgh Eurométropole, France Emile Roemer Sucaciu Gheorghe Mayor of Heerlen, Netherlands Mayor of Fagaras, Romania Jürgen Dr. Pfeiffer Robert Fejstamer Mayor of Heilsbronn, Germany Mayor of Kanjiža, Serbia Dr. Ingo Meyer Hugo Andersson Lord Mayor of Hildesheim, Germany Mayor of Finspang, Sweden David Ostholthoff Mayor of Hörstel, Germany Mayor of , Italy Mihai Chirica Rosemarie Heilig Mayor of Iasi, Romania Deputy Mayor of am Main, Germany Georg Willi Birgit S. Hansen Mayor of Innsbruck, Deputy Mayor of Frederikshavn, Denmark Ruslan Martsinkiv Martin W. Horn Mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk, Lord Mayor of Freiburg, Germany Timo Koivisto Ionut Florin Pucheanu Mayor of Jyväskylä, Mayor of Galati, Romania Damir Mandic Thorsten Krüger Mayor of Karlovac, Croatia Mayor of Geestland, Germany Dr. Cemil Tugay Frank Baranowski Mayor of Karsiyaka, Lord Mayor of Gelsenkirchen, Germany Dr. Frank Mentrup Lord Mayor of , Germany Per-Samuel Nisser Pedro Gomes Mayor of , Sweden Mayor of Lousada, Portugal

Dr. Ulf Kämpfer Werner Spec Mayor of Kiel, Germany Lord Mayor of Ludwigsburg, Germany

David Langner Dr. Rainer Haas Lord Mayor of Koblenz, Germany District Administrator of Ludwigsburg County, Germany Dr. Joachim Wolf Mayor of Korntal-Münchingen, Germany Gérard Collomb Mayor of Lyon, France Vincent Van Quickenborne Mayor of Kortrijk, Belgium Manuela Carmena Mayor of , Spain Frank Meyer Lord Mayor of Krefeld, Germany Francisco de la Torre Prados Mayor of Málaga, Spain Radomir Nikolic Mayor of Kragujevac, Serbia Katrin Stjernfeldt-Jammeh Mayor of Malmö, Sweden George Panayiotou Mayor of Kyperounta, Cyprus Sir Richard Leese Leader of Manchester City Council, United Jean-François Fountaine Kingdom Mayor of La Rochelle, France Dr. Peter Kurz Photoula Hadjipapa Lord Mayor of Mannheim, Germany Mayor of Lakatamia, Cyprus Mattia Palazzi Kimmo Jarva Mayor of Mantova, Italy Mayor of , Finland Wieland Stötzel Andreas Vyras Mayor of , Germany Mayor of Larnaka, Cyprus Barbara Heinonen Peter Soulsby Mayor of Mariehamn, Finland Mayor of Leicester, Jens Spiske Mohamed Ridouani Mayor of Markransteadt, Germany Mayor of Leuven, Belgium Willy Demeyer Mayor of , Italy Mayor of Liège, Belgium Peter Marland Martine Aubry Mayor of Milton Keynes, United Kingdom Mayor of , France Gian Carlo Muzzarelli Fernando Medina Mayor of Modena, Italy Mayor of , Portugal Zimmermann Daniel Zoran Janković Mayor of Monheim am Rhein, Germany Mayor of Ljubjana, Slovenia Patrice Bessac Sadiq Khan Mayor of Montreuil, France Mayor of London, United Kingdom Michael Jann Lord Mayor of Mosbach, Germany Lujbo Beslic Vladan Vasić Mayor of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina Mayor of Pirot, Serbia

Ulrich Scholten Heinrich Hofmann Lord Mayor of Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany Mayor of Planegg, Germany

Dieter Reiter Panayiotis Papadopoullos Lord Mayor of München, Germany Mayor of Platres, Cyprus

José Ballesta Germán Yiotis Papachristofi Mayor of Murcia, Spain Mayor of Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus

Dražen Srpak Rui Moreira Mayor of Mursko Središće, Croatia Mayor of , Portugal

Mats Gerdau Kolarek Ljubomir Mayor of Nacka, Sweden Mayor of Prelog, Croatia

Johanna Rolland Nuška Gajšek Mayor of Nantes, France Mayor of Ptuj, Slovenia

Constantinos Yiorkadjis Waclaw Zarski Mayor of Nicosia, Cyprus Mayor of Raciechowice, Poland

Darko Bulatovic Burkhard Mast-Weisz Mayor of Nis, Serbia Lord Mayor of Remscheid, Germany

Gregor Macedoni Emmanuel Couet Mayor of Novo Mesto, Slovenia President of Métropole, France

Dr. Ulrich Maly Thomas Keck Lord Mayor of , Germany Lord Mayor of Reutlingen, Germany

Daniel Schranz Dagur B. Eggertsson Lord Mayor of Oberhausen, Germany Mayor of Reykjavik,

Ilie Bolojan Andreas Sunder Mayor of , Romania Mayor of Rietberg, Germany

Lena Baastad Olegs Burovs Mayor of Orebro, Sweden Mayor of ,

Danijel Vrbnjak Sami Sulkko Mayor of Ormož, Slovenia Mayor of Riihimäki, Finland

Raymond Johansen Vojko Obersnel Governing Mayor of , Norway Mayor of , Croatia

Nico Schulz Ahmed Aboutaleb Mayor of Osterburg, Germany Mayor of , Netherlands

Päivi Laajala Charlotte Britz Mayor of , Finland Lord Mayor of Saarbrücken, Germany

Joseba Asiron Saez Philippe Laurent Mayor of Pamplona, Spain Mayor of Sceaux, France Dirk Harscher Thomas Schmidt Mayor of Schopfheim, Germany Mayor of Teltow, Germany

Dorin Nistor Nicolae Robu Mayor of Sebeș, Romania Mayor of Timisoara, Romania

Dr. Vlasta Krmelj Erion Veliaj Mayor of Selnica ob Dravi, Slovenia Mayor of Tirana, Albania

Maurizio Mangialardi Peter Brocka Mayor of Senigallia, Italy Mayor of Trnava, Slovakia

Yakup Otgöz Boris Palmer Mayor of Seydikemer, Turkey Mayor of Tübingen, Germany

Mihai Chirica Mayor of Sibiu, Romania Mayor of , Italy

Ovidiu Dumitru Mălâncrăvean Minna Arve Mayor of Sighișoara, Romania Mayor of , Finland

Tim-Oliver Kurzbach Paul Van Miert Lord Mayor of Solingen, Germany Mayor of Turnhout, Belgium

Erik Lauritzen Hans Lindberg Mayor of Sonderborg, Denmark Mayor of Umeå, Sweden

Manfred Scherer Erik Pelling Mayor of Sprendlingen-Gensingen, Germany Mayor of , Sweden

Milan Stamotovic Jan van Zanen Mayor of Cajetina, Serbia Mayor of Utrecht, Netherlands

Hans Josef Linßen Joan Ribo i Canut Mayor of Straelen, Germany Mayor of Valencia, Spain

Roland Ries Oscar Puente Santiago Mayor of Strasbourg, France Mayor of Valladolid, Spain

Stanislav Rebernik Ritva Viljanen Mayor of Štrigova, Croatia Mayor of , Finland

Andreas Papacharalambous Cheryl Jones-Fur Mayor of Strovolos, Cyprus Deputy Mayor of Växjö, Sweden

Peter Pätzold Nathalie Apperé Mayor of Stuttgart, Germany Mayor of Rennes, France

Andelko Nagrajsalovic Hans Bonte Mayor of Sveti Juraj na Bregu, Croatia Mayor of Vilvoorde, Belgium

Lauri Lyly Gorka Urtaran Mayor of , Finland Mayor of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

Dorin Florea Boban Djurovic Mayor of Târgu Mureș, Romania President of Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia Christian Thegelkamp Milan Bandić Mayor of Wadersloh, Germany Mayor of Zabreb, Croatia

Andreas Hesky Tatar Balazs Mayor of Waiblingen, Germany Mayor of Zalau, Romania

Sonja Leidemann Sandro Maculan Mayor of Witten, Germany Mayor of Zugliano, Italy

Jacek Sutryk and Julije Domac Mayor of Wroclaw, Poland CEO of North-West Croatia Regional Energy Agency & President of FEDARENE

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