Sadiq Khan points to global cities rapidly divesting in fossil fuels, stating mayors are more nimble than national governments
Cities have been more successful in finding the right incentives to drive green economies than nation states according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Khan, who was in New York at the same time as the UN General Assembly, referred to UN secretary general Antonio Guterres’ description of cities as “the first responders to the climate emergency”.
He said “the evidence over the last few years is countries have been delaying taking action […], whereas cities have been taking action. We are the doers versus the delayers.”
Cities have traditionally invested in fossil fuels through pension funds but the mayor said that now 20 cities are actively divesting in oil, gas and coal.
>> Also read: Government red tape depletes climate funds and erodes trust in communities, says SNP minister
>> Guidance released for engineers to assess carbon impact of design and advisory work
He said “$500 billion is now no longer going to fossil fuels, instead it’s going to cleaner sustainable energies. That’s the power cities”.
Khan, speaking on Monday afternoon at Climate Week NYC, said that as co-chair of the C40 network of global cities he was proud of their shared commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and said it was on course to meet that goal.
The network has grown to 96 cities from the originally 40 and he said: “three quarters of those cities, [so] 66, are doing much better than our respective governments.”
Reasons for faster action according to Khan come down to the incentives and policies city leaders are able to introduce with the mandate they have been given by voters. He said: “Mayors can be far more nimble, dexterous, we can move faster. And we are close to our people.”
He spoke specifically about using local London rules to drive carbon out of new buildings saying: “If you want permission to build any building in London, any building, it’s going to be zero carbon during the construction from the whole cycle. If it’s not zero carbon, you are not building in London.”
Khan’s comments were made in discussion about moving away from fossil fuel dependent economies with Tzeporah Berman, chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. She called for all investment and development of fossil fuel projects to halt immediately.
“We have to stop building fossil fuel projects, and we have to stop investing in fossil fuel projects right now,” Berman said.
Explaining the treaty she campaigns for she said: “The idea of a fossil fuel treaty is that it would be a companion to the Paris Agreement to help us meet the goals […], because for decades, we’ve been negotiating about emissions and targets, and meanwhile, we keep growing the production of fossil fuels.
“So right now, we’re on track to produce 110% more oil, gas and coal by 2030 than we could ever burn if we want to stay below two degrees.”
“They’re [fossil fuel companies] the most profitable companies on Earth, and they have made $2.8bn every day, for the past 50 years, according to the World Bank data. So so we need to figure out how to move some of that wealth to get countries the support they need in order to support economic diversification.”
She added that while the phase out of coal, oil and gas required different approaches, capital investment in all three has to be stopped.
Berman said: “People say gas is a bridge, and gas might have been a bridge 15 to 20 years ago but right now gas is a blockade to a renewable future as it’s displacing renewables.”
She added that she had been “horrified” recent news of the by the $6bn in bond insurance Saudi Aramco had received.
“It was referred to as a global medium term note, maturing in 2064. But if we’re using that much oil in 2064 then that means we’re staying on the trajectory we’re currently on,” said Berman. “And let’s not forget that that trajectory means that huge areas of the planet will no longer be habitable for humans, because we’re going to see such lethal humidity.”
She said the world needed to prioritise electrification and stop investing in fossil fuels because while there are no limits “everybody, every country, every company, wants to be the last barrel sold”.
No comments yet