A new committee for the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) in Oceania, established to address climate change from a local level has met for the first time.
The committee aims to boost collaboration between cities, local governments and community partners globally to achieve emissions reductions while adapting to a changing climate.
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy is the world's largest global network of local councils taking action on climate change, linking Oceania Mayors with over 10,000 cities from 120 countries, representing more than 950 million people world-wide.
The committee comprises city leaders from Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and joins with nine other global regions to prioritise climate change action. Additional members including peak local government associations and other partners will also soon be invited to join the Committee.
The committee also supports a local Mayor to represent Oceania on the Global Board, co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice President Frans Timmermans and former New York City Mayor and UN Envoy Michael Bloomberg.
"The Oceania region is a unique mix of the highest per capita emitters in the world and communities most impacted by climate change" Newcastle Lord Mayor and Committee Chair, Nuatali Nelmes said.
"It's extremely important that we work together across the region to achieve concrete sustainability and low emission outcomes."
"Our collective priorities for the next year are to grow the GCoM network, build powerful partnerships with aligned organisations, and advocate to governments to support city climate action" Cr Nelmes said.
ICLEI Oceania is the GCoM regional secretariat and all local councils are invited to become a signatory to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy.
