Climate change actions by major cities - Michael Bloomberg, now working on CC for UN and John Kerry
There was a meeting of 19 mayors including 10 from the US hosted by the State Department. The intent is they can learn from each other. Like the US/China pact and other international agreements, executive orders, working with the cities is a way to achieve results that Congress will definitely not do.
Here is their op:
When world leaders gather in Paris in December to negotiate a global agreement on climate change, they will have a powerful ally standing behind them and urging them onward: mayors. In fact, mayors have already helped set the stage for success in Paris, by establishing models of cooperation that provide a strong foundation for the negotiations.
Through international coalitions like the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the Compact of Mayors, cities around the world have been committing to major reductions in carbon emissions, while adopting a common measurement system and public reporting process to ensure that they can be held accountable. In other words: Many cities are already doing what the United Nations is urging national governments to do
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For example, bus rapid transit systems have spread from Bogota to Jakarta and many points in between. Melbourne Mayor Robert Doyle credits the progress in his city to shamelessly stealing strategies from New York and Toronto. Today, Melbourne boasts the highest density of Green Star-rated buildings in Australia and has doubled the number of trees in the citys center.
The fact is, more shameless stealing would do the world a lot of good. Thats why the two of us decided to bring the State Department and Bloomberg Philanthropies together to launch the Our Cities, Our Climate exchange for city officials around the globe.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-10-08/all-climate-change-is-local
Former mayor Bloomberg is the UN secretary-generals special envoy for cities and climate change
Here is a link to the State department speech - (select 2 )
http://www.state.gov/ Both Kerry and Bloomberg were very interesting.
Here is a link to the text of JK's and MB's speeches -
http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/10/248043.htm