Mayors call on G20 leaders to establish climate justice fund for cities

“Echoing the G20 theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ we want to encourage more ambitious cooperation between national governments, cities, citizens, and other stakeholders to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement and the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework within this ‘Decade of Action’,” the communique read.

The mayors said there should be regulations for new buildings to operate at net-zero and old buildings to be retrofitted. They said public transport, zero-emission vehicles and “active travel” like walking and cycling should be prioritised.

The communique called for an overhaul of development finance in order to provide more support for climate action in cities. It said investment in fossil fuel should be disincentivised, while donors, finance institutions and public banks should establish urban climate finance initiatives.

“Expand the scope of multilateral and national finance to consider just transition and socio-economic aspects as part of project appraisal and include funding for technical assistance, capacity building and workforce preparedness. Establish a Loss and Damage Fund directly accessible by cities to promote climate justice and include this proposal in the ongoing discussions around the reform of Multilateral Development Banks,” the communique read.

The mayors also called for just treatment of all people during the transition to cleaner energy. “Promote fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in the development and enforcement of socio-environmental policies, regardless of race, gender, age, religion, sexual orientation or income. Enact regulations to promote green career opportunities in all sectors, especially for youth and women,” the communique read.

The communique also reflected what has been reiterated by the various G20 engagement groups on the issue of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “U20 collectively calls for peaceful resolution of the conflict through political dialogue in appropriate platforms, mediation and other peaceful means and commits to strengthen a culture of peace, timely humanitarian response, and respect for democracy and human rights,” it said.

The communique was handed over to Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri and India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant. In a tweet, Puri said he was sure that Kant would “integrate the recommendations in final deliberations of the G20 summit”, referring to the G20 leaders’ summit in September.

Kant, meanwhile, said that transforming the lives of urban poor was critical to the growth of cities. The former NITI Aayog CEO said Saturday that in the last eight years, India has built 40 million houses and provided 110 million water connections, equivalent to the population of Australia and Brazil, respectively.

Climate action plan

– Set up ‘loss and damage’ fund

– Overhaul development finance

– Prioritise public transport

– Just treatment of people amid green transition

– Net-zero regulations for new buildings

– Disincentivise fossil fuel investment