Mayor Phil Goff along with eleven mayors of major cities from around the world came together recently at the first ever Together4Climate event in Paris to advance the fight against climate change.
Together4Climate focussed on making communities cleaner, healthier and more sustainable, and on advancing the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. It was hosted by C40 Cities, a network of the world's megacities committed to addressing climate change, of which Auckland is a member.
Mayor Goff represented Auckland at the event and participated in the signing of the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration to procure only zero-emission buses from 2025 and to ensure that Auckland's city centre has zero emissions by 2030.
The declaration builds on existing initiatives to make Auckland greener and healthier. These include the Mayor's Million Trees Programme which will plant one million predominantly native trees around Auckland; electric bus trials; the construction of the City Rail Link and electrification of the city's rail network; and continued investment in active modes of transport including walking and cycling.
The City is also actively encouraging the use of electric vehicles and returning our city centre and waterfront to pedestrians.
Mayor Phil Goff said, "I am committed to making Auckland greener, healthier and safer for our people."
"Auckland and New Zealand must lead on tackling climate change. It is a defining issue of our time and setting ambitious zero-emission targets is the only way we will make a serious impact on reducing our carbon emissions.
"Zero-emissions targets for our bus network and our city centre create a framework and impetus for Auckland to contribute to the Paris Agreement our nation signed up to in 2015.
"Tackling climate change and making our city environmentally friendly is an investment in the future of Auckland. We are making these commitments for the sake of our children and grandchildren, and the world we leave behind for them."
The Mayor signed the declaration at the CityLab conference in Paris alongside mayors from Paris, London, Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Milan, Quito, Vancouver, Cape Town, Seattle, Mexico City and Milan.
More information on the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration is available here.
