C40. Mayors' appeal for economic recovery from CoViD-19

Here are the principles for a healthy, fair and sustainable restart: "No return to normal life"

Milan, May 7 2020 - The mayors of the most influential cities in the world have underlined that the recovery from CoViD-19 "should not translate into a return to normal life, as we live in a world that is facing warming of 3°C or more".

The cities that make up the C40 network have presented a declaration containing principles for shaping recovery from the crisis caused by CoViD-19. The mayors intend to "exploit the recovery from the crisis caused by CoViD-19 to build a better, more sustainable and more just society".

The principles were adopted at the first meeting of Global Mayors CoViD-19 recovery task force (Global Mayors Expert Group on CoViD-19 Recovery) by C40, with the support of the President, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Representatives of numerous cities approved them, including Los Angeles, Athens, Austin, Barcelona, Bogota, Boston, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Copenhagen, Curitiba, Durban, Freetown, Hong Kong, Houston, Lima, Lisbon, London, Medellin, Melbourne , Mexico City, Milan, Montreal, New Orleans, New York, Oslo, Portland, Quezon City, Rotterdam, Salvador, Sao Paulo, San Francisco, Santiago, Seattle, Seoul, Sydney, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Vancouver.

Today's announcement comes after a series of videoconference meetings attended by more than 40 mayors, demonstrating the joint commitment at a global level to overcome both the crisis caused by the coronavirus and that linked to climate change.

The Declaration of Principles
The CoViD-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on cities around the world. This is not only a global health crisis, but also a social and economic crisis, the effects of which will be felt for many years. In many ways this also constitutes an urban phenomenon, which has its roots in the destruction of the environment and humanity's relationship with nature.

As mayors, we are committed to supporting the inhabitants of our cities and protecting their health, based on the advice of experts. As members of the C40 network city group, we are sharing what we have learned in the past months and the insights we have gained in responding to other crises, across public health, economics and the environment.

It is clear that the damage caused by CoViD-19 has not been equitable. The most vulnerable and disadvantaged are also the most affected by the health and economic consequences of CoViD-19. It is also clear that the world was not fully prepared for this crisis, despite the lessons learned from SARS, MERS, Ebola and other recent health and climate emergencies. This represents, in part, a consequence of the weakening of the international mechanisms and institutions built to ensure peace and prosperity for all. In part, this is a consequence of the lack of attention paid to scientific knowledge.

We, as leaders of the world's major cities, clearly state that we should not aspire to a return to "normal"; Our goal is to leverage the recovery from the Covid-19 crisis to build a better, more sustainable, more resilient and more equitable society. Therefore, our joint strategy to support the recovery of our cities and their inhabitants from CoViD-19 will be guided by the following principles:

the recovery must not translate into a return to "life as usual", as we live in a world that is experiencing warming of 3°C or more;
the recovery must be essentially guided by respect for public health and scientific expertise, in order to guarantee the safety of those who live in our cities;
excellent public services, public investment and greater community resilience will form the most effective basis for recovery;
the recovery must address equity issues brought to light by the impact of the crisis. For example, workers in roles now deemed essential must be given due credit: they must be paid accordingly. And policies must support people living in informal settlements;
the recovery must improve the resilience of our cities and communities. Therefore, we need to invest to protect ourselves from future threats, including the climate crisis, and to support people impacted by climate and health risks;
Climate action can help accelerate economic recovery and improve social equity, through the use of new technologies and the creation of new sectors and jobs. These factors will drive broader benefits for residents, workers, students, businesses and visitors;
We are committed to doing everything in our power and the power of our city governments to ensure that the recovery from CoViD-19 is healthy, equitable and sustainable;
we commit to using our collective voice and individual actions to ensure that national governments support both cities and the necessary investments in cities, in order to achieve an economic recovery that is healthy, equitable and sustainable;
We are committed to using our collective voice and individual actions to ensure that international and regional institutions invest directly in cities, to support a healthy, equitable and sustainable recovery.

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C40. Mayors' appeal for economic recovery from CoViD-19