Major Cities Show Leadership to Cut GHG Emissions: C40 Tokyo Conference

Representatives from the world's leading cities gathered at the C40 Tokyo Conference on Climate Change (Adaptation Measures for Low Carbon Cities), which was held in Tokyo from October 22 to 24, 2008. The Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, known as C40, is a group of major cities committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It was first proposed by a former Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and founded in 2005. Thirty-two cities among 60 member and affiliated cities around the world participated in the conference and agreed to take 13 joint actions with a shared recognition of the pressing need to tackle global warming, as well as the importance of the responsibility and roles that cities should take in addressing this critical issue.

The joint actions encompass measures to address global environmental changes that include rising temperatures, water shortages, floods, natural disasters, and food problems. Progress on joint actions is to be reported at the third C40 summit, to be held in Seoul in May 2009.

The governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, and the Chair of C40, Toronto mayor David Miller, issued a joint statement acknowledging that global warming poses danger to humanity, and that the world's major cities must take immediate and bold measures to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions. The statement also encourages the world's cities to work together to plan and implement concrete measures through the exchange of people and information.

- C40 Tokyo Conference on Climate Change
http://www.c40tokyo.jp/en/index.html
http://www.c40cities.org/news/news-20081024.jsp

Posted: 2009/03/01 06:00:15 AM

TAG Global warming , Local government