A total of 210 Mayors and Deputy Mayors of ICLEI Members and other cities across Europe, representing 62 million citizens, have today urged the European Council and Member States to step up the EU’s climate commitments, to show global leadership and drive ambition to make rapid progress in the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Ashok Sridharan, Mayor of Bonn (Germany) and President of ICLEI, said: “We are calling on national governments, the European Commission and EU parliamentarians to take more immediate and ambitious action to deliver on the Paris Agreement and prevent irreversible damage to our planet. As President of ICLEI, I request a European framework that facilitates multilevel acceleration of low emission development by 2030, aiming at climate neutrality before mid-century. As Mayor of Bonn, I am committed to leading by example to avert the climate impacts on people, nature and the economy.”

In the open letter entitled “Cities call for a more sustainable and equitable European future,” cities demand the development of a just and inclusive European long-term climate strategy that enhances resilience and ensures emissions in the EU peak by 2020, more than halve by 2030, and reach net-zero by 2050. They also call for enhancing the 2030 EU climate and energy targets and Nationally Determined Contribution to ensure a resilient, rapid and just energy transition in line with the above goals. In addition, they request aligning the next EU long-term budget with this strategy, remove fossil fuel subsidies, and mainstream climate action as a priority across all funding programmes. The open letter, published ahead of the Future of Europe conference to take place in Sibiu (Romania) on 9 May 2019, also asks to commit all member states to binding net-zero emissions reduction targets and the above goals.

Martin Horn, Mayor of Freiburg (Germany) and Chair of ICLEI Europe, declared: “Now is the time to act to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. We have to listen to science and take the IPCC report seriously – it is very likely that we only have until 2030 to limit climate change effects. We need a rapid and deep transformation to a more sustainable and just society for the benefits of our citizens, and should commit to a net-zero emissions target by 2050. Freiburg will continue to implement ambitious climate measures to safeguard the well-being of our and future generations.”

To read the Open Letter click here: English | French | Spanish | German