Mayors Unite to Fight Climate Change

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAYORS UNITE TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

BERKELEY, California, December 23, 2004 --/WORLD-WIRE/-- At the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina last week, six local government leaders representing major cities of the world signed a statement on behalf of all local governments asking the UNFCCC to recognize actions taken by local governments to mitigate global warming.

Mayor Anibal Ibarra, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Vice-Mayor Imma Mayol, Barcelona, Spain; Vice-Mayor Patricia Ross, Abbotsford, Canada; Councilman Domenico Zampaglione, Milan, Italy; Councilman Marcelo Lelis, Palmas, Brazil; and Mayor Rocky Anderson, Salt Lake City, USA; presented information in Buenos Aires, regarding actions local government are taking to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In its municipal operations, Salt Lake City is striving to meet and beat the Kyoto Protocol goal for the U.S. of 7 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2012. Salt Lake City Mayor Anderson says that global warming is "perhaps the most urgent, crucial issue facing our world," and urges governmental entities, individuals, and businesses to reduce use of gasoline-powered vehicles and reliance on energy produced from coal-burning plants - two main producers of carbon dioxide.

With the Kyoto Protocol slated to come into force in early 2005, the Local Government Statement requests that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change:

validates the importance of local government action by requiring the inclusion of a description of our actions to protect the climate in official communications to the UNFCCC;
includes local government policies such as public transport and building codes that stimulate market transformation for the benefit of climate protection;
recognizes local government as the level of government closest to the people with direct access to action with special status to local governments at future UNFCCC events and deliberations.

Local governments are setting emission reduction targets that are more stringent than those adopted on the national level, and have already proven to be leaders. Local government leaders expect to continue to lead the way by being the first to establish post-Kyoto targets.

While nations continue to debate on how to tackle human induced climate change, thousands of local governments, representing more than 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, are taking action to protect both the global climate and the local environment.

Since 1990, local governments participating in ICLEI's Cities for Climate Protection Campaign have been enacting measures that prevent tens of millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere. U.S. local governments annually save more than $400 million while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 20 million tons. Local governments set emission reduction targets that are more stringent than those adopted by their national governments, mandate energy efficiency improvements and the use of renewable energies, and implement innovative waste management and transportation strategies,

CONTACT:
Michelle Pawar
mwymanpawar@iclei.org

Susan Ode
sode@iclei.org
Outreach Officer
ICLEI Cities for Climate Protection Campaign

ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability
15 Shattuck Square Suite 215
Berkeley, California 94704
Telephone 510-540-8843 ext 311
Fax 510-540-4787
http://www.iclei.org/us

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