BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- A global gathering of mayors concerned about climate change kicked off Thursday in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires Mayor Horacio Rodriguez Larreta and his London counterpart Sadiq Khan opened the two-day C40 World Mayors Summit, which brings together 121 cities from around the world and 150 from Argentina to "agree" to new commitments to fight global warming, the host city's government said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the opening ceremony at the Buenos Aires Convention Center in a video message.
"Cities around the world ... remain at the forefront of the climate emergency," and their leadership is essential to achieving the sustainable development goals needed to combat climate devastation, Guterres said.
"Your citizens look to you to provide leadership, action and protection that is often lacking at the national level," he said, urging local authorities to accelerate climate action by urgently reducing carbon footprints, investing in renewable energy, and promoting green jobs, among other measures.
In just two weeks, COP27 (the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) will take place and every government, every business, every investor, every institution must step up. "The world is counting on you," Guterres said.
Rodriguez highlighted the importance of dialogue towards consensus in pursuit of climate action.
"No one is exempt from the consequences of climate change ... facing this situation requires everyone's effort, but not the same effort from everyone," he said.
"The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities forces the northern hemisphere to assume its greatest responsibility and its greatest capacity for action in this challenge," he said.
"A united Latin America has the potential to be a key region in the fight against climate change ... we must go beyond the environment-economic development dichotomy. They are not incompatible, quite the opposite: climate action and green financing are an opportunity for development and Argentina is a great example of that," he added.
As president of the C40, Khan welcomed the commitment of the participating cities to encourage the creation of green jobs, one of the priorities of his administration.
"Investing in the jobs and skills of the future will help us to tackle inequality as we tackle the climate crisis. I'm so proud to stand united in action with my fellow C40 city mayors to drive the creation of 50 million good, green jobs by the end of this decade," Khan said.
According to a statement from the Buenos Aires mayor's office, through Friday, mayors and more than 1,200 climate change experts, business leaders and representatives of international organizations will debate climate commitments in three central areas: green and fair economic recovery with job creation, access to financing for environmental projects, and cities of well-being.
