Edmonton Declaration
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy is an international alliance of cities and local governments with a shared long-term vision of promoting and supporting voluntary action to combat climate change and move to a low emission, resilient society.
This past March, The City of Edmonton in partnership with the Global Covenant of Mayors brought together global city networks, mayors, and the scientific community in Edmonton for the Change for Climate Global Mayors Summit to discuss these unique needs and one of the outcomes was the development of an Edmonton Declaration.
The Edmonton Declaration is a call-to-action for cities of all sizes to seriously consider the role of scientific research and data in building ambitious climate action plans and prioritize science-based decision-making that reinforces the targets in the Paris Agreement.
In short, the Edmonton Declaration:
- Engages all levels of government to recognize the immediate and urgent need for action that will limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- Recognizes that cities face some of the most significant impacts of rising GHG emissions and bear the much of the costs for adaptation and mitigation.
- Reinforces the importance and role of cities in achieving the targets in the Paris Agreement.
- Calls on the scientific community and other levels of government to provide better data and tools for science-based decision-making.
- Asks cities to look beyond their borders at the impact of consumption on GHG emissions.
If mayors are interested in supporting the Global Covenant, they can add their signatures to the Edmonton Declaration.