Mayors from around the world declare commitment to making cities resilient to climate change

Mayors from around the world declare commitment to making cities resilient to climate change

Bonn, Germany –The Global Launch of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign, "My City Is Getting Ready," took place in Bonn on 30 May 2010, in collaboration with ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and World Mayors Council on Climate Change in the framework of the Mayors Adaptation Forum at the Resilient Cities 2010 Congress. Mayors from 22 cities in 19 countries gathered in Bonn to launch the Mayors Adaptation Forum; the first annual platform of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change to help local leaders with advocacy and local adaptation practices.

“We understand that there is an urgent need to come together in a campaign that will help us to better share ways to reduce urban risk, and therefore save lives,” said Marcelo Ebrard, the mayor of Mexico City and chair of the World's Mayors Council on Climate Change.

The mayors asserted that cities need to have a stronger role in climate change negotiations as without local governments action, national governments will fail to meet the targets and actions necessary to combat climate change and mitigate its effects.

The Bonn Declaration of the Mayors Adaptation Forum commits to the implementation and monitoring of the Making Cities Resilient campaign, and invites the international climate community to recognize the increased leadership of local governments in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The declaration has been disseminated to ICLEI's global cities network and to UNFCCC negotiators and observers.

Jürgen Nimptsch the Lord Mayor of Bonn, stated: "Here in Bonn we have a tradition of holding Mayors conferences, a tradition of sending strong signals; the Bonn Declaration of Mayors is this kind of signal to the climate community."

The Congress concluded with the signing of the Bonn Declaration of Mayors, a road map for the World Mayors Council on Climate Change’s trajectory toward the next UN climate change conference (COP 16) in Cancún, Mexico, and beyond.

For more information on the on the Bonn Declaration please visit The World Mayors Council on Climate Change