Major cities call for dramatic emission cuts by all nations

Written by Writer on Friday, October 24th, 2008

Major cities call for dramatic emission cuts by all nations

Mayors and officials from 32 major cities from around the world urged “all nations” Thursday to achieve “drastic cuts” in greenhouse gas emissions under a global climate accord to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.

“The international community must cooperate in making an abrupt shift in direction for drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions,” Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and Toronto Mayor David Miller said in a joint statement issued after a two-day meeting in Tokyo of the so-called C40 group of major international cities.

“A new global framework for the period from 2013 is now under discussion, but all nations of the world must reduce their emissions,” the statement said, summing up the views by major international cities, including New York, Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro.

Stressing national governments’ crucial role in curbing global warming, delegates at the C40 Tokyo Conference on Climate Change said cities are “acting now” and “showing leadership on combating climate change” in the runup to high-level U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen slated for December 2009, where global negotiations for a post-Kyoto framework will be concluded, the statement said.

The United Nations is set to begin the final phase of negotiations on the post-Kyoto deal at ministerial talks in December in Poland.

The C40 will hold a summit next May in Seoul to advance climate change initiatives.

Since its inception in London in 2005, the C40 has been working to accelerate programs by the participating cities to combat climate change by sharing effective practices and taking action to reduce greenhouse gases.

The Japan Times
Friday, Oct. 24, 2008