The world’s 2 city-led climate change initiatives, the EU Covenant of Mayors and the Compact of Mayors, joined forces and launched a coalition of over 7,100 cities across the globe committed to the fight against climate change.

The new merger – the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy – is expected to boost collaboration between cities from 119 countries, help build connections and increase funding to support and empower city action on sustainable energy and climate change. The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy will provide a platform that accumulates all the relevant data on energy and climate actions taken by cities and reported to the current EU Covenant platform and the platforms supporting the Compact of Mayors.

The new Global Covenant website, which will be launched by January 2017, will make all cities’ achievements publicly available. The platform will allow to compare achievements of different cities and regions across the globe and measure their progress publicly and transparently.

The Global Covenant will encourage cities and local governments to set more ambitious goals to mitigate climate change, become active contributors to a global climate solution, take accelerated actions to attain the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.

UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael R. Bloomberg, who will Co-Chair the new Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, welcomed the launch of a new coalition and said: “In unity there is strength, and this new Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy will help accelerate the progress cities are making and magnify their influence on the global stage. This is a giant step forward in the work of achieving the goals that nations agreed to in Paris."

European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič added: "The EU Covenant of Mayors shows that when mayors share a vision of a low-carbon future and roll up their sleeves, things get done. Bottom-up and close to the citizens: that is the strength of the European Covenant. As of today, this will become the strength of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy, a coalition that is truly unique on the global scene. Never before have so many cities joined forces, eager to inspire each other and committed to collectively taking the path to a low-carbon, resilient society."

For more details about the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, click here.

by Natalie Myhalnytska

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