Cities are key site for climate battle

“The fight against greenhouse gas emissions will be won or lost in cities,” Toronto Mayor David Miller said yesterday in Seoul.

Miller’s words concluded a three day summit of leaders from the world’s largest cities in the South Korean capital.

In a summit declaration, the leaders stressed that half the world’s population live in cities.

Cities cover just 2% of the earth’s surface, yet they consume 75% of the world’s energy, and produce 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“In the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, the leading role of cities in the global effort against climate change must be recognised,” said the declaration of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit.

Cities must be empowered and resourced to work together reducing emissions and fighting climate change, the joint statement added.

“C40 cities hereby set a common 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, [and] by making cities less vulnerable to climate change,” the declaration said.

The leaders will gather again immediately before the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen to demand that the Seoul Declaration is included in the conference agenda.

C40 is a voluntary organisation of 40 member cities and 17 affiliate cities, set up to help cities better deal with climate change and its consequences.