Global cities network launches climate plan for COP21

The world’s largest network of cities adopted an action plan to tackle climate change at a congress held in South Korea on Friday.

The Seoul Action Plan was launched by the capital’s Mayor Park Won-soon to boost global support at the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives World Congress.

The plan, a follow-up to the Seoul Declaration adopted a day before, calls for close cooperation between cities worldwide through three major global networks ― ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, United Cities and Local Government and C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group ― to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Cities also pledged to more effectively implement the Compact of Mayors that was established at the United Nations Climate Summit in September 2014.

The compact focuses on the commitments of cities to bolster their pledges to reduce GHG emissions by 454 megatons by 2020.

Cities including Paris and Nantes in France, Montreal in Canada, Johannesburg in South Africa and San Rafael in Argentina ― presented their green projects and vowed to strengthen their anti-carbon drives.

The Seoul Action Plan and the Seoul Declaration will be presented at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, otherwise known COP 21, which will be held in December in Paris.

A new binding global climate agreement is due to be signed at the meeting that should finalise post-2020 emissions reduction targets.

Seoul City pledged last week to slash emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 as part of the cities “Promise of Seoul” initiative.