Mayors will talk climate finance ahead of UN Bonn climate talks

ICLEI Media advisory: Resilient Cities 2011 – 2nd world congress on adaptation and climate change, 3-5 June 2011, Bonn, Germany

Back to back with the UN Climate Talks ahead of COP17 in Bonn, the Mayor of Mexico City and the Mayor of Bonn will gather their peers, confirming their commitment to globally coordinated local climate action. Mayors and Governors will focus on strategic political responses to the challenges that climate change brings to their cities.

The Mayors Adaptation Forum, the high level segment of the Resilient Cities 2011 world congress, will bring together the city leaders of Mexico City, Bonn, Dar es Salaam, Copenhagen, Quezon, Suwon, and Lagos among others.

Part of the response to climate change must be solid financial mechanisms to support adaptation measures to make cities resilient. While agreements such as the Mexico City Pact and declarations such as the Bonn declaration of Mayors must affirm climate change actions, the implementation of measures must be coherent and effective by being registered and measured through mechanisms such as the carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR).

Mayors will discuss the inversion of the existing climate finance mechanisms in a bottom-up approach in order to offer finance for adaptation that is responsive to local conditions. They will also review the commitments made by 180 cities and local governments so far to report their data to the cCCR. Having the ability to ensure that local climate action is measurable, reportable and verifiable through such a mechanism will aid funders in assessing needs and risks, and enable them to plan jointly with cities and local governments. Cities and local governments need to be enabled to prepare to face the effects of climate change through strategic long-term investments which allow for the sustainable development of urban spaces and services.

The Resilient Cities 2011 congress will once again be the global platform showing how cities and local governments are implementing local solutions to global problems. Climate change is happening; the world already experiences an increase in extreme weather events. Densely populated urban areas in vulnerable locations have to bear the greatest effects. However, cities and local governments are also uniquely placed to ensure effective implementation to address specific local challenges and are closest to the people that are feeling the impact of climate change.

Media accreditation to Resilient Cities 2011

Media representatives can gain accreditation for the Resilient Cities 2011 world congress by registering at http://resilient-cities.iclei.org/bonn2011/press-media

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About Resilient Cities 2011, 3-5 June 2011, Bonn, Germany

Resilient Cities is the global platform for learning, cooperation and networking on all aspects of urban resilience and adaptation to climate change, and is convened by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability, the City of Bonn, and the World Mayors Council on Climate Change. Dr. Joan Clos, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT is the patron for the 2011 congress. Participants coming from a wide array of backgrounds are given the opportunity to take an active part in exchanging strategies and sharing experiences, including Mayors, Governors, Councillors, Chiefs of Sustainability Units, Disaster Risk and Emergency Managers, Directors of Resource and Environmental Development, Urban and Regional Planners and Consultants, Private Sector Solutions Providers, Researchers, Municipal Associations or Engineers.

http://resilient-cities.iclei.org/bonn2011

http://resilient-cities.iclei.org/bonn2011/press-media

About the Mayors Adaptation Forum 2011, 4-5 June 2011, Bonn, Germany The Mayors Adaptation Forum 2011 (MAF) forms the Mayors' segment of the Resilient Cities 2011 congress. The Forum is convened by the World Mayors Council on Climate Change and lead by the Councils Chair and Vice Chair, Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard and Bonn Mayor Juergen Nimptsch. Participation in the Forum is an outstanding opportunity for Mayors and Governors to collectively demonstrate local leadership on climate resilience on a global scale. The outcomes of the Forum will be directly conveyed to the climate negotiators present at the June 2011 session of the UN climate talks in Bonn which immediately follow the Resilient Cities congress. Attendance to the Forum is by invitation only.

http://resilient-cities.iclei.org/bonn2011/mayors-adaptation-forum

About ICLEI

More than 1200 local governments and their associations, representing over 440 million people in 70 countries, constitute ICLEI's membership. ICLEI is a global association of local governments and municipal organizations that have made a commitment to sustainable development. As a movement, ICLEI runs the world’s largest climate program of cities that links local action to national goals and internationally agreed targets. ICLEI provides information, delivers training, organizes conferences, facilitates networking and city-to-city exchanges, carries out research and pilot projects, and offers technical services and consultancy.
www.iclei.org

About the World Mayors Council on Climate Change (WMCCC)


The World Mayors Council on Climate Change is an alliance of committed local government leaders advocating an enhanced recognition and involvement of Mayors in global efforts to address climate change. The Council plays an instrumental role in building political leadership around the Mexico City Pact and carbonn Cities Climate Registry (cCCR) The World Mayors Council has been supported by ICLEI since its inception in 2005. www.worldmayorscouncil.org

About the Mexico City Pact and the carbon Cities Climate Registry (cCCR)

The Global Covenant of Cities on Climate (‘Mexico City Pact’) was launched at the World Mayors Summit on Climate in Mexico City in November 2010. To date it has been signed by over 180 Mayors and representatives of local governments. The Pact sets out why cities are strategic actors in combating global warming, and establishes a set of voluntary commitments to promote strategies and actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting cities to the impacts of climate change.

By signing the Pact, cities and local government have also committed to register their emission inventories, commitments, climate mitigation and adaptation measures and actions in a measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) manner through the carbonn Cities Climate Registry. The Registry is operated by ICLEI’s Bonn Center for Local Climate Action and Reporting (carbonn).

www.worldmayorscouncil.org/the-mexico-city-pact

www.citiesclimateregistry.org

Any questions? Please contact

Anke Stoffregen, Manager Communications and Dialogues, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, World Secretariat at media@iclei.org