City Mayors United in Call to Combat Climate Change

C40 member cities adopt the Seoul Declaration

Mayors and delegates of major cities around the globe on May 21 reconfirmed their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and their joint bid to combat climate change.
The participating mayors and representatives adopted the "Seoul Declaration" after wrapping up t0he C40 Large Cities Climate Summit held from May 18-21 at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.
The statement declares, "C40 cities set a goal of transforming themselves into low-carbon cities, by cutting greenhouse gas emissions to the largest extent possible, by adapting themselves to the unavoidable climate change consequences, by making cities less vulnerable to climate change and by enhancing cities' capacity for remediation." Mayors and delegates of 76 cities assembled for the third biennial summit of the C40 Climate Leadership Group (C40 CLG).
The statement said that C40 member cities will examine their current level of greenhouse gas emissions, reduce them through policies, programs and projects as much as possible and take steps to eliminate the impact of the already existing emissions. It also stated that C40 member cities will implement the Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), containing stage-by-stage reduction targets, detailed action plans and schedules.
In accordance with the Seoul Declaration, C40 member cities will appoint a policy-decision official in charge of responding to climate change and inform the appointment to the Secretariat of the C40 CLG, which will present the outcomes of their efforts to reduce carbon emissions to the next general assembly.
According to the declaration, more than half of the global population resides in cities, which are responsible for 75 percent of global energy consumption and 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, and if this trend continues, more than two-thirds of the global population will live in cities in 2030. It noted that C40 cities should take responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and establishing steps to cope with climate change.
The C40 CLG was inaugurated in 2005 to combat climate change with a focus on the role of cities. The C40 CLG comprises 40 member cities including New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai, and 17 affiliates including Seattle, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Copenhagen.
The fourth C40 Large Cities Climate Summit will be held in Sao Paul, Brazil in 2011. nw

(above) Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in Seoul on May 18 as former U.S. president Bill Clinton looks on in the background.
Dignitaries, including mayors and delegates of 76 cities around the world, pose during the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit. They included Seoul Mayor Oh, former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Toronto Mayor David Miller.