Mayors, Ministers call for Joint Action on Climate Change at OECD Conference

10/10/2008 - A major international conference on "Competitive Cities and Climate Change″ organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) concluded today in Milan. It underlined the central and critical role to be played by cities in successfully addressing the major global challenge of climate change.

Hosted by the City and Province of Milan with the support of the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and the collaboration of the Club of Madrid, this major OECD initiative provided the opportunity for mayors and senior political figures from some of the world’s most important and influential cities to both address common challenges and share best practices on climate solutions.

The Conference follows in the wake of OECD studies that outlined the vulnerability of flooding and sea level rise in major cities, such as Miami, New York, Kolkata, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Lagos, Jakarta, New Orleans, Mumbai, Tokyo, and Shanghai.  “Given that the majority of the world’s population lives in cities accounting for 60 to 80 percent of emissions, cities are key actors in our efforts to achieve long-term sustainable solutions to the global climate change challenge”, said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. (Read full speech here)

Top officials from Toronto, Madrid, Mexico City, Lisbon, Paris, Barcelona, San Francisco, Boston, and many others, discussed the opportunities for city and regional governments to become more active in the green economy. They identified successful cases where environmental sustainability furthered economic development, such as through renewable energy, public transportation, and climate-friendly R&D.

The Milan Conference discussed how national support could catalyze local action through improved protocols, funding, and capacity building for local governments. The Conference brought together representatives from influential city networks  – ICLEI, UCLG, Clinton Climate Initiative, the C40 – along with organisations such as the European Union and UN-HABITAT, among others.

During the Conference, the 2nd OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers for Urban Development Strategy was held. Officials recognised the need to build consensus on urban environmental indicators and the urgency to implement policies that harmonise national, regional, and local action to combat climate change. Delegates endorsed continued policy dialogue and action that strengthens relationships between city competitiveness and climate change. They invited the OECD to continue assisting governments by:

• pooling and systematising knowledge around the local policy experience, including tools and monitoring to make progress in climate protection;
 
• conducting assessments of collaboration between local and national government for climate change action; and

• providing an essential sounding board for the urban dimension in current global climate change policy processes.

In a closing ceremony Secretary-General Gurría outlined the groundswell of local initiatives declaring, “Momentum is building to mainstream policies for the ‘green economy’ and climate smart cities….How cities develop will determine our collective ability to address climate change….The time has come to bring the experience and the capacity of cities to deal with the development and climate change challenge to the front of the climate debate. We need to empower cities to do the right things on climate change and we need to learn from their experience.”

The participants of the 2nd OECD Roundtable on Urban Strategy of Mayors and Ministers agreed for the need for resilient urban economies that foster opportunities for the “green economy.” Mayors and Ministers outlined how market-based systems could save energy, reduce greenhouse gases, and provide “green jobs.” The participants invited governments to build the capacities of local, regional and national stakeholders to more effectively respond to climate change.