Stanton to speak at climate summit in Beijing
Jun 7, 2016, 5:10 AM
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
Mayor Greg Stanton will speak in the second U.S.-China Climate Summit Tuesday in Beijing.
The Summit results from the historic 2014 joint climate announcement by Presidents Obama and Xi in which the U.S. committed to reduce its emissions 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, and China committed to peak carbon dioxide emissions around 2030.
According to the Office of the Mayor, Stanton and 19 other U.S. mayors will work with local Chinese sub-national officials and business leaders to demonstrate their commitment to climate action. This is following December’s United Nations climate conference in Paris, and to share experiences in building low-carbon, climate-resilient communities.
“As a city and as a region, our economic future depends on our resilience and preparedness for climate change,” said Stanton, who will address the Summit’s opening plenary session. “Phoenix has authored one of the best sustainability turnaround stories in the nation, and across the globe the strongest leadership on climate change is coming from mayors and cities. If we hope to reverse the effects of climate change on our planet, it’s up to cities lead the way. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen in Beijing.”
All attending leaders have been engaged in strong city-to-city collaboration through initiatives such as the Compact of Mayors and the Alliance of Peaking Pioneer Cities (APPC).
The APPC, which was first established in September, 2015, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Compact of Mayors Tuesday. The MOU is a pledge to jointly explore the best approaches for green and low-carbon development.
The United States and China are the two largest contributors to carbon emissions globally. City leaders are helping enable both countries to meet the ambitious climate targets announced by President Obama and President Xi in 2014 and to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals.
During this week’s Summit, leading cities from both countries work toward those targets by sharing best practices and discussing objectives to fight global climate change.
