We have entered the age of the local leader. At COP21, more than 400 mayors came together for the Climate Summit for Local Leaders, organized by Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change. This was the largest climate-oriented gathering of mayors to date, providing a forum for a dynamic discussion of solutions and ambition on climate targets.
Perhaps even more importantly, it signaled a new era in climate action. Historically, discussions on climate policy have largely portrayed cities as the source of problems, painting them as major polluters and areas of intensive resource consumption.
The conventional wisdom was that national governments were the only institutions able to solve global environmental problems; cities were simply left out of these conversations. The inclusion of cities at COP21 demonstrated the fact that the narrative has changed — there is now widespread recognition of cities as global problem-solvers, capable of tackling broad issues like climate change.
About the author
Aniruddha Dasgupta
Aniruddha Dasgupta is the global director of WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, WRI’s program that galvanizes action to help cities grow more sustainably and improve quality of life in developing countries around the world. Ani guides WRI Sustainable Cities in developing environmentally, socially, and financially sustainable solutions to improve people’s quality of life in developing cities.
