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C40 Cities and R20 agree to work together to ensure implementation of the Paris Agreement
By TEAM R20 | 2nd May 2017 | Updated at 07:05
A Greener World
| The most powerful cities, states and regions of the world including Paris, London, Beijing, California, British Colombia and Gujurat State in India, have agreed to collaborate to tackle climate change. Organisations led by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo and former Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, two of the world’s most powerful advocates for action on climate change, have committed to work together to implement the Paris Agreement.
C40 Cities and R20 Regions of Climate Action will collaborate across a range of issues, including in supporting cities and regions to develop climate action plans and access finance for green infrastructure projects.
A key priority for the partnership will be to help foster the next generation of women climate leaders. C40’s Women4Climate Initiative, will concretely empower the next generation of women leaders who will create a better tomorrow. This will be delivered through a mentorship scheme benefitting hundreds of young women leaders in cities around the world, new research on the impact of climate change on women in cities and ambitious events to showcase the thought leadership achievements of women leaders in climate.
R20 recently launched a green-fund for women to provide financial support for the actions of companies, start-ups and green SMEs run by women around the world. Such complementary projects will be part of the collaboration between C40 and R20.
Anne Hidalgo is Mayor of Paris and Chair of C40 cities, a network of 90 of the world’s greatest cities committed to action on climate change. Mayors of C40 cities represent 650 million urban citizens and more than 25% of global GDP. She said:
C40’s groundbreaking Deadline 2020 report revealed the scale and urgency of the challenge ahead in realizing the ambition of the Paris Agreement. Governor Schwarzenegger, showed just how much states and regions could deliver in tackling climate change during his tenure in California. I am delighted that the 90 great cities of the world that make up the C40 network and the regions of the R20 will now work together to deliver on this most urgent challenge.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was Governor of California from 2003-2011, and is the Founding Chair of R20, which helps sub-national governments around the world to develop and communicate low-carbon and climate resilient economic development projects. He said:
It is no longer certain that nations will live up to the commitments they made in the Paris Agreement. Fortunately states, regions cities and the private sector are stepping up to provide the leadership the world needs. Thanks to powerful mayors like Anne Hidalgo in Paris, we will get the job done.
