5 December 2016: At the sixth biennial Mayors Summit, the flagship event of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, announcements and initiatives included commitments by US cities to combat climate change, a ban of diesel cars by various capitals, and the launch of an initiative supporting women leaders who are driving climate action.

The Mayors Summit convened in Mexico City, Mexico, from 30 November to 2 December 2016, and brought together mayors and other relevant stakeholders to: raise awareness of the potential for climate action in cities; advance a common agenda through collaboration and knowledge sharing; and stress the importance of working with national governments to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The C40 research report titled, ‘Deadline 2020: How Cities Will Get The Job Done,’ explains that megacities must peak emissions by 2020 and halve emissions for every citizen by 2030.

During the Summit, C40 launched a research report titled, ‘Deadline 2020: How Cities Will Get The Job Done.’ The report provides concrete recommendations for cities to meet aggressive goals and halt climate change, in an effort to fulfill the Paris Agreement. It explains that megacities must peak emissions by 2020 and halve emissions for every citizen by 2030. According to C40, if cities with 100,000 people or more act on the report’s recommendations, emission reductions will reach 40% of what is required to avoid catastrophic climate change. The report also finds that achieving this objective will require approximately US$375 billion in investment in low carbon infrastructure in C40 cities over the next four years. The report’s recommendations include: focusing on the building and transit sectors; developing “compact, connected and coordinated cities;” and partnering with regional and national-level actors.

Drawing on the ‘Deadline 2020′ report, mayors from US cities have urged US President-elect Donald Trump to recognize the real and urgent threat that climate change poses to the world’s cities, and to support them as they enact policies and programmes to combat climate change. According to C40, US cities can contribute more than a third of the emissions reductions needed by 2025 to meet the US’ commitments to the Paris Agreement.

The mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens signed an Air Quality Declaration, committing to remove diesel vehicles by 2025, incentivize the use of alternative vehicles, and promote walking and cycling infrastructure, in an effort to reduce exposure to outdoor air pollution and the number of related deaths.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former C40 Chair announced a joint US$40 million commitment over four years to C40 from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, which helps poor and vulnerable children in developing countries, and Realdania, a Danish philanthropic association.

The mayors of Paris, Mexico City, Madrid and Athens signed an Air Quality Declaration, committing to remove diesel vehicles by 2025, incentivize the use of alternative vehicles, and promote walking and cycling infrastructure, in an effort to reduce exposure to outdoor air pollution and the number of related deaths. The mayors called on car and bus manufacturers to halt diesel vehicle production by 2025 and support the transition to electric, hydrogen and hybrid vehicles. C40 cities indicated their intent to join the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN’s Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants (CCAC), in support of the ‘BreathLife’ campaign to halve the 6.5 million deaths from air pollution by 2030 and to reduce such pollutants from the transport, waste and energy sectors, particularly soot from diesel vehicles.

Incoming C40 Chair and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and others launched the Women4Climate initiative to support and empower women leaders who are driving climate action. Hidalgo explained that, as C40 Chair, she hopes to galvanize the international community to focus on the gender and climate nexus, and address gender inequality and social inclusion. As C40 Chair, Hidalgo is succeeding Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Pae, under whose tenure C40 created a Finance Facility to support cities in the Global South, and pushed cities to the forefront of climate conversations.

The Summit also included the fourth annual C40 Cities Awards, which recognize cities that are demonstrating climate action leadership in ten categories. During the Summit, several cities joined the C40 network, bringing its total members to 90. The new C40 cities are: Dakar, Senegal; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Medellin, Colombia; and Montreal, Canada.

C40 is a network of the world’s megacities that addresses climate change, and supports cities to collaborate, share knowledge and drive meaningful, measurable and sustainable climate action. Previous Mayors Summits convened in Johannesburg, South Africa (2014), São Paulo, Brazil (2012), Seoul, Republic of Korea (2009), New York, US (2007), and London, UK (2005). [C40 Mayors Summit Website 2016] [US Mayors’ Announcement] [Air Quality Declaration] [Women4Climate Announcement] [Women4Climate Blog] [Opening Remarks by Incoming C40 Chair Mayor Hidalgo] [C40 Press Release] [Deadline 2020: How Cities Will Get the Job Done]