Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

At the center of the virtual meeting with the Special Envoy for the Climate of the President of the United States of America is the leadership of cities on the climate and the international efforts supported on environmental issues

Milan, May 10 2021 – Today a group of 19 mayors of major cities from 13 countries around the world met with United States President John Kerry's Special Envoy for Climate. The virtual meeting, organized by the C40 Cities network, provided an opportunity for mayors to discuss collaborative climate initiatives with Kerry and to keep the spotlight on a renewed sense of international climate collaboration.

The discussion, led by Los Angeles Mayor and C40 President Eric Garcetti, focused on leadership from cities that are already implementing inclusive climate action in line with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C goal. Mayors in attendance also shared ideas on how to build national government support for climate action and city ambition on the road to COP26.

One year after the establishment of the C40 Global mayors Covid-19 Recovery task force, city leaders welcomed the Biden Administration's efforts to support and invest in a green recovery in the United States of America. The Mayor of Milan and President of the task force Giuseppe Sala has pushed his colleagues to ask governments around the world to collaborate with cities to ensure a green and just recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.

“The climate crisis requires leadership, and the world's mayors are providing it by taking bold, ambitious commitments and actions to pursue a green and just recovery,” said US President John Kerry's Special Envoy for Climate. We will work with them. , as part of a global movement to fight climate change and build a better, greener and more equitable future."

“The problems we face as a global society – whether rising emissions, deadly viruses or economic upheaval – are not limited by municipal or national borders, so we know our solutions cannot be either,” said the president of C40 and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti - With the Biden administration restoring America's leadership on climate around the world, collaborations like the one between C40 mayors and Secretary Kerry are critical to advancing our collective vision for an equitable, low-carbon recovery from the pandemic."

"The 'C40 Global mayors Covid-19 Recovery task force' brought together city leaders from around the world to show the way towards a green and just recovery from the Covid-19 crisis – explained the Mayor of Milan and President of the task force Giuseppe Sala - Cities have taken the courageous action needed to make our recommendations a reality, creating decent, green jobs, investing in key public services and giving space back to people and nature engaged in these efforts in the United States federal government."

“We had a fruitful meeting with Secretary Kerry. We discussed the importance that cities will play in reducing carbon emissions and combating climate change,” said Melbourne Mayor Sally Capp. “We also discussed the immense economic opportunities for cities like Melbourne to take the lead in embracing sustainability and attracting jobs and industries of the future."

“Freetown, like many other cities, is constantly innovative in how it addresses the risks that climate change poses to its fellow citizens,” said Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr. “We continue to call on national governments to look beyond the borders and to support subnational governments if we want to achieve the ambitious global climate goals set. No country can do it alone. We need cooperation, we need collaboration and, more importantly, we need cities to be at the center of everything." .