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Add to Preferred Sources35 mayors pledged to deliver clean air for the more than 140 million people that live in their cities. By signing the C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration, the mayors recognise that breathing clean air is a human right and commit to work together to form an unparalleled global coalition for clean air.
The pledge unveiled at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen commits cities to set ambitious pollution reduction targets and implement substantive clean air policies by 2025. By publicly reporting on their progress, the cities plan to generate a ‘race to the top’ in cleaning the air in the world’s big cities. The cities signing the C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration are:
Amman, Austin, Bengaluru, Barcelona, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Delhi, Dubai, Durban (eThekwini), Guadalajara, Heidelberg, Houston, Jakarta, Los Angeles, Lima, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Medellin, Mexico City, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Portland, Quezon City, Quito, Rotterdam, Seoul, Stockholm, Sydney, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tokyo, Warsaw, Washington D.C.
Mayors, speaking at a press conference in Copenhagen had a clear message “We know we need to tackle the twin dangers of air pollution and the climate emergency. Both need swift, unprecedented and collective action to remove the pollution that is harming our health and warming our planet.”
According to the World Health Organization, 9 in 10 citizens around the world breathe dirty air, and 7 million people die prematurely each year due to air pollution. Air pollution is creating a global public health crisis — one that is rooted in social injustice. Typically, it is the poorest and most vulnerable communities that are most affected by dirty, polluted air.
Through the C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration, mayors commit to using their power and influence to reduce air pollution and work towards meeting the World Health Organization’s Air Quality Guidelines. This means cities will continually reduce their local emissions, and advocate for reductions in regional emissions, resulting in continuous declines in air pollution levels that move towards the WHO guidelines:
Signatories of the declaration pledge to: Set ambitious pollution reduction targets within two years that meet or exceed national commitments, putting them on a path towards meeting World Health Organization guidelines; Implement substantive clean air policies by 2025 that address the unique causes of pollution in their cities; and Publicly report progress on achieving these goals.
If the 35 signatories reduce annual average PM2.5 levels to WHO guidelines (10 ug/m3) it could avoid 40,000 deaths each year.
Mayors have a wide array of tools at their disposal for improving air quality, including expanding low- or zero-carbon public transport; creating zero-emissions zones; requiring and promoting cleaner fuels for heating and cooking; enhancing incentives and infrastructure to support walking and cycling, and establishing city-wide air quality monitoring. However, they also recognize cities often do not have the ability to address all causes of pollution and are calling upon nation-states, businesses and all those who care about climate change and public health to match this commitment.
The Declaration includes this message for all responsible actors: “We will use all the powers at our disposal as mayors to tackle air pollution, and call on others responsible for the sources of air pollution that poison the air in our cities to match this commitment.”
Over the last decade, cities have been taking action to address underlying causes of air pollution, including high-emission transportation systems. 35 cities, including Milan, London, and Copenhagen, have committed to the C40 Green and Healthy Streets Declaration, through which they have pledged to procure only zero-emissions buses from 2025 and make a major area of the city transport emissions-free by 2030.
C40 research shows that if all C40 cities cleaned their transport, buildings and industry this would reduce GHG emissions by 87%, PM2.5 by nearly 50% and would avoid over 220,000 premature deaths per year.
On October 9th, C40 mayors announced their support for a Global Green New Deal to “drive an urgent, fundamental and irreversible transfer of global resources away from fossil fuels and into action that averts the climate emergency.” The C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration, is just one example of how cities are delivering on that vision.
Original source: C40
Published on 11 October 2019