12 cities allied in the C40 network, 36 million citizens. And a promise: to stop investing in fossil fuels and focus on the green economy.
New York, London, Los Angeles, Berlin, Bristol, Cape Town, Durban, Milan, New Orleans, Oslo, Pittsburgh, Vancouver. These are the twelve metropolises, all members of the international C40 network, that have committed to a truly sustainable recovery after the trauma of the pandemic. Which means, above all, shifting their financial investments from fossil fuels to the green economy.
To weather the deep crisis triggered by the coronavirus, governments have deployed powerful economic stimulus packages. The European Union alone has pledged 750 billion euros for the Next Generation EU fund, which is in addition to the EU budget. Some measures, however, are denounced by various environmental organisations as risking dangerous distorting effects. By cross-referencing a series of official data provided by institutions and other public databases, Energy Policy Tracker has estimated the support provided to the energy sector on a global scale at 382 billion euros. Of this, the clear majority (around 178 billion) goes towards supporting fossil fuels, compared to 117 billion for clean energy.
The twelve mayors, representing 36 million citizens, pledge to take a very different path. "We are determined to lead the way by divesting our financial assets from fossil fuel companies and promoting investment in the green economy wherever possible." All of this out of a sense of responsibility towards the environment and public health, they stress, but also as a matter of pure economics. The coal, oil and natural gas sectors face far too uncertain a future. And therefore too risky from a financial standpoint.
In addition to acting on investments managed directly by their own administrations, the mayors pledge to engage with pension funds, private financial institutions and governments to persuade them to do the same. This commitment, they assure, will not be purely aspirational. The twelve signatories will, in fact, monitor their own progress and submit an annual report to the C40 coordination body.
Founded in 2005 by the then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, C40 is an alliance of the mayors of the world's largest cities. Their aim? To reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions through meaningful, measurable, replicable and sustainable programmes. To date, 96 cities have joined, which together account for over 800 million inhabitants and generate a quarter of global GDP. So far, 24 of them have pledged to reach 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030; 18 have banned single-use plastic items; 17 have introduced restrictions on the most polluting vehicles. The current president of C40 is the Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti, while the board of directors is chaired by three-time Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg. The Mayor of Milan Beppe Sala heads the task force set up in response to the health emergency.
