May 3, 2023. Denver, United States. Mayors and officials from Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada, and the United States gathered for the Cities Summit of the Americas from April 24 to 30 in Denver, Colorado. This event was organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Biennial of the Americas.
“It has been an honor to host this inaugural meeting and welcome delegates from across the Americas to Mile High City for important conversations,” Denver Mayor Michael Hancock reaffirmed during his speech. “Mayors, municipal officials, business leaders, and non-profits from across the continent are ready to tackle important issues. We’re ready to get to work!” posted the mayor on his Twitter.
The agenda of this international event covered topics ranging from infrastructure and sustainable development, financing, social inclusion, and women’s empowerment to proposals addressing public and private urban transportation, digitalization, energy transition, and combating climate change.
The European Union also participated through its Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in the Americas project, which supported the participation of Mayor Carolina Leitao of Peñalolén in Chile and the President of the Chilean Association of Municipalities (AChM). She was a panelist in the opening general session and spoke in various parallel sessions.
“Peñalolén faces climate change challenges similar to those faced by many small cities in the region. Along with many other cities, we belong to the Global Covenant of Mayors. Through this network, we’ve learned about initiatives and shared experiences to replicate and work innovatively with concrete actions to address climate change in our municipalities,” emphasized Leitao.
Several sessions addressed climate change and how local governments can tackle this global challenge, such as the “Urban Development and Circular Economy” event organized by ICLEI. During this session, Cam Guthrie, Mayor of Guelph, Canada, and a member of the Global Covenant of Mayors’ Board of Directors noted that to develop partnerships, it’s crucial to know and understand the experiences, practices, and knowledge of other municipalities. “There’s no way to talk about the circular economy without sharing information and learning how to make it a reality in our territories,” emphasized Guthrie.
On the same topic, Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mayor of Monterrey, stressed that cities are primarily responsible for combating climate change and must lead mitigation efforts. “All goals must be localized, and cities have the opportunity to take on this more prominent role. We, the cities, can bring circularity to the local system,” warned Colosio. “We must review how we manage our natural resources and reintegrate them into our economic system. It’s about reengineering our consumption habits,” he emphasized.
This first edition of the Cities Summit aimed to promote cooperation among local leaders from across the Western Hemisphere, sharing solutions with each other and with international policymakers to drive initiatives like Cities Forward. This initiative, launched at the summit, seeks to connect large, medium, and small cities in the United States with their counterparts in Latin America and the Caribbean for peer learning and connection.
Nearly 4,000 people attended the summit in downtown Denver, including 250 mayors representing 35 countries from across the Americas.
About the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM)
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) is the largest global alliance of cities and municipalities leading the fight against climate change, supported by municipal networks and other key actors in subnational climate action. It includes over 12,700 cities committed in more than 142 countries worldwide, representing over 11% of the global population. It is estimated that the signatory municipalities of GCoM can reduce up to 1.4 gigatons of CO2 annually by 2030. By implementing the ambitious climate actions they have committed to, the signatory municipalities of GCoM contribute to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. GCoM currently has 13 Regional and National Covenants (including one for Latin America), supporting municipalities worldwide.
About the “Support to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy – Action in the Americas” Project (GCoM Americas)
The project is funded by the EU Partnership Instrument, which supports achieving EU political objectives in areas such as climate change and the external projection of the EU Green Deal. It is managed by the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) of the European Commission. The overall objective of the project is to develop, monitor, and lead climate action and sustainable energy diplomacy globally at the local level, thereby supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement along with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and other United Nations initiatives focused on climate change and cities.
