The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, which will officially start in January 2017, brings together the Compact of Mayors and the EU Covenant of Mayors, the world’s two primary initiatives aiming at assisting cities and local governments in their transition to a low-carbon economy. An office has been set up in Brussels under the Direction of Amanda Eichel from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
At political level, the initiative will be led by a Board. The networks of local and regional governments have followed the selection of members and indicated preferences among the signatories of the Global Compact.
The Board
The Board will be chaired by the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, Mr. Bloomberg, and Vice President of the European Commission, Mr. Šefčovič. Former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres, will serve as Vice-Chair of the Board. Current UNFCCC Executive Secretary, Patricia Espinosa, will join the Board as an observer and advisor.
The nine mayors appointed to the board are:
Mayor Kasim Reed (Atlanta, USA)
• Mayor Patricia De Lille (Cape Town, South Africa)
• Mayor Mohamed Sefiani (Chefchaouen, Morocco)
• Mayor Anne Hidalgo (Paris, France)
• Mayor Mauricio Rodas (Quito, Ecuador)
• Mayor Jaiman Upadhyay (Rajkot, India)
• Mayor Park Won-soon (Seoul, South Korea)
• Mayor Tri Rismaharini (Surabaya, Indonesia)
• Mayor Gregor Robertson (Vancouver, Canada)
In principle, the board members have the following qualities:
- Must be a sitting mayor or equivalent and a representative of his/her peers from the region.
- A commitment to and understanding of the causes and consequences of global climate change and a commitment to city-led action towards a low-carbon economy with universal access to sustainable energy.
Background
About the Compact of Mayors
The Compact of Mayors was launched at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Summit in New York City, on September 23, 2014, by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40), ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI), and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) – endorsed by UN-Habitat, UN Secretary General´s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, UN Secretary General´s Climate Change Support Team.
The Compact of Mayors is an agreement by mayors and other city officials to publically commit to deep GHG emissions reductions using a newly-standardized measurement system that is compatible with international practices.
About The Covenant of Mayors
The Covenant of Mayors is the world’s biggest urban climate and energy initiative, involving 6600 cities and regions in 57 countries. Covenant Signatories, cities and regions alike, share a long-term vision of decarbonized and resilient territories providing sustainable and affordable energy to all. They voluntary commit to contributing to this vision by meeting objectives of mitigation, adaptation and access to energy which are defined at regional or national levels. They produce Climate & Energy Action Plans that are subject to monitoring processes. Covenant signatories are encouraged to work together, cities with regions and states and then with national governments. Most major city networks are at present involved in the Covenant, UCLG (CCRE), Eurocities, ICLEI, Energy Cities, Climate Alliance…