September 23, 2024
https://www.c40.org/news/mayors-new-york-put-cities-at-heart-global-clim...
C40 city leaders, including C40 Co-Chairs Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan and Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr alongside fellow mayors from Africa, Europe, Asia, North and South America will join decision-makers at the Summit of the Future, the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week. The meetings will set the tone and expectation for climate action in 2025 – a critical year of decision-making, culminating with COP30 in Brazil.
Cities are responsible for 70% of global emissions, whilst also facing the full impact of the climate emergency. It is vital that city leaders have a prominent seat at the table whenever national climate and decarbonisation targets are discussed.
Mayor Khan will showcase London’s place as a global leader in reducing emissions, cleaning up the air and divesting from fossil fuels as he meets with politicians and decision-makers at the United Nations. He will address the challenges of keeping the world on track to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals and speak with global decision-makers and organisers on the importance of some of his key climate missions including cleaning up waterways and pedestrianisation of major thoroughfares.
Meanwhile, Mayor Aki-Sawyerr will join young people from around the world at the United Nations Headquarters to address the challenges the next generation will face when inheriting the climate crisis and the need for intergenerational leadership on climate. She will also become the first mayor to address the Global Renewables Summit, seeking to triple renewable energy globally by 2030. According to C40 research, global investment in renewables needs to increase more than fourfold to over US$5 trillion annually to stay on the 1.5°C pathway.
In New York City this week, C40 will also:
- join forces with financial institutions to find new ways to finance electric freight in Latin America through the Laneshift programme funded by The Climate Pledge;
- receive significant new support from the Rockefeller Foundation to help cities prepare for the health implications of a rapidly changing climate;
- and highlight the expected impact of climate migration on Global South cities, which could see more than 8 million internal migrants by 2050.
Across New York City this week and around the world every day, mayors and cities are taking the lead on reducing emissions, transitioning away from fossil fuels, enhancing climate finance, protecting vulnerable communities, and fostering global cooperation.
