Dozens of mayors from municipalities that are members of the Chilean Network of Municipalities against Climate Change (RedMuniCC) will gather this Thursday, November 22, at the Consistorial Building of the Illustrious Municipality of Santiago with national and international authorities, academics, and researchers, on the occasion of the IV Forum of Mayors against Climate Change 2018.
Organized by Adapt Chile, an entity that guides municipalities in the processes of adapting to and mitigating climate change, the Mayors’ Forum will serve for RedMuniCC to present the balance of implemented climate actions, to express its stance on the Climate Change Framework Law project that the Chilean government is currently working on, in the face of the executive’s decentralization agenda, and in response to the country’s voluntary commitments (NDCs) following the signing of the Paris Agreement.
During the forum, there will also be the delivery of the Mayors’ Declaration on Climate Change to the national delegation, which will present it at the 24th session of the United Nations Conference of the Parties on climate change (COP24). Additionally, the cities of Temuco, Santiago, Providencia, Independencia, Peñalolén, and Vitacura will be baptized as Emblematic Cities of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy. This act will signify the adherence of these six municipalities to the covenant.
The meeting will be attended by the Minister of the Environment, Carolina Schimdt, the Undersecretary of Regional Development and Administration, Felipe Salaberry, the Undersecretary of Energy, Ricardo Irarrázabal, the Ambassador of France in Chile, Roland Dubertrand, the Ambassador of the European Union in Chile, Stella Zervoudaki, the Illustrious Mayor of the Municipality of Santiago, Felipe Alessandri, along with more than 25 mayors from the municipalities of RedMuniCC, and the National Director of Adapt Chile, Jordan Harris, among others.
The agenda for the Mayors’ Forum on Climate Change 2018
After the traditional welcome words from the authorities, the forum began with the presentation of the balance of work done by RedMuniCC and the current challenges it faces. It will continue with the delivery of the Mayors’ Declaration on Climate Change 2018 to the Chilean delegation representing the country at COP24 at the end of the year.
Next, the Head of the Climate Change Office of the Ministry of the Environment, Carolina Urmeneta, will discuss Chile’s efforts against climate change, which will be incorporated into a new law in August 2019. Attendees will then debate the proposal during the forum.
Later, municipalities that have developed their Local Climate Change Plans (PLCC), a climate management planning tool funded by the European Union and currently used by 19 Chilean municipalities, will be recognized.
Following this, the Undersecretary of Regional Development, Felipe Salaberry, will lead a discussion on how municipal management can address climate change and the local contributions to the decentralization agenda of the Government of Chile. Subsequently, in relation to Chile’s efforts to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement, a debate will be held on the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) established by Chile before the United Nations.
The event will conclude with the signing of six Chilean municipalities to join the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM), establishing themselves as Emblematic Cities for the Covenant in Chile, an initiative implemented with the support of the International Urban Cooperation Program of the European Union in Latin America (IUC-LAC).
