Twenty Latin American mayors commit to Compact of Mayors

At C40’s first-ever Latin American Mayors Forum, hosted by Buenos Aires and attended by more than 15 mayors and vice-mayors from the region, it was announced that 20 Latin American mayors have joined the Compact of Mayors, and 20 global C40 cities have committed to pursuing clean buses.

Buenos Aires Mayor Mauricio Macri, Mexico City Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera and former President of México and Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy Felipe Calderón joined C40 Chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes in announcing both the C40 City Clean Bus Declaration of Intent and a Latin American Cities Declaration on the Compact of Mayors, which is the world’s largest cooperative effort among mayors to fight global climate change and its effects.

“By taking these decisive steps, Latin American cities are leading the way in driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban citizens,” said Eduardo Paes. “Mayors, through networks such as C40, are learning from each other, exchanging ideas and thereby accelerating local action on the ground.”

Latin American cities have significant potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, with C40 research indicating that, taken together, they could cut emissions by 2,500 MtCO2 by 2030, or the equivalent of taking 526 million cars off the road.

In the first such regional commitment of its kind, 20 Latin American cities signed a Declaration on the Compact of Mayors. The Compact organising partners, including C40, ICLEI and UCLG, are encouraging the world’s cities to commit to the Compact of Mayors before the UN climate talks in Paris in December, and congratulate Latin American cities for demonstrating leadership and commitment to the effort.

The full list of signatories includes: Asunción, Belo Horizonte, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Cali, Caracas, Cordoba, Curitiba, Fortaleza, La Paz, Lima, Mexico City, Panama, Quito, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Santo Domingo, São Paulo, Tegucigalpa, and Valparaíso.

“This Forum comes at a critical moment in Latin America’s urban development,” said Mauricio Macri, who hosted the event. “Mayors here are recognising that they can play a key role throughout the region and internationally, but we must continue to set aggressive climate targets and pursue our goals. If we work together, Latin American cities stand to contribute enormously to the global climate fight while improving the lives of our citizens.”

The Compact of Mayors is designed to recognise and encourage city-level climate action while capturing efforts through a consistent, transparent public emissions reporting process. Committing to the Compact requires establishing a GHG inventory using the new GPC gold standard for calculating city-scale emissions, then using that assessment to help prepare for the effects of climate change. This includes identifying city-specific hazards and vulnerabilities and creating a climate action plan that includes adaptation or emissions reduction targets.

“Just over 700 of the world’s largest cities could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 1.5 billion tonnes every year, by building better transport systems and avoiding urban sprawl,” said Felipe Calderón. “In signing the new Compact of Mayors, mayors are committing to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, more resilient economy, converting major cities’ potential to reduce emissions into a reality. They’re also providing a concrete example for their national governments to follow in the Paris climate conference later this year.”