Peduto representing U.S. mayors at climate talks in Poland
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will represent mayors from the United States on Monday when he speaks in Poland at the United Nations’ annual conference on climate change.
Chosen by the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, Mr. Peduto will speak alongside mayors from Denmark and the Philippines on the role of cities in combating climate change.
“The subject matter covers how cities worldwide can help stem climate change, even when national governments may not be taking a leadership role,” said Tim McNulty, the mayor’s spokesperson. “Much of this stems from the fact that most people live in or around cities, so changes to energy uses in urban areas will have outsized impact.”
At the conference, Mr. Peduto replaces Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, who has represented the Global Covenant of Mayors in the past. Mr. Peduto also will appear in his capacity as a board member for the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI- USA).
COP24 — formally the 24th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — commenced in Katowice, Poland, on Dec. 2 and will end on Friday. The conference aims to create practical rules for nations to implement the Paris Agreement — and to keep global warming “well under” 2 degrees Celsius this century, according to the U.N. conference website.
Mr. Peduto will deliver opening remarks and answer questions Monday on a panel titled “Science and Practice for Climate Action” and will participate in a second panel titled “Global Research and Action Agenda on Cities and Climate Change Science for Effective Urban Responses to Climate Change.”
Mr. McNulty said the work being discussed echoes two initiatives Pittsburgh joined in June -— gathering data on energy needs and renewable energy pricing as well as entering the so-called Edmonton Declaration, in which cities pledged to scientifically track progress of efforts to comply with Paris Agreement goals.
“While President [Donald] Trump dropped the commitment by the United States to abide by the accords, Mayor Peduto said the City of Pittsburgh will stand by them,” a news release about the mayor’s Poland trip stated.
This month, Mr. Peduto hosted representatives from 20 cities at an advanced screening of the National Geographic documentary “Paris to Pittsburgh” directed by Sidney Beaumont — and titled after a comment Mr. Trump said in June 2017 when he announced he was pulling the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord.
According to a city news release in June, the city’s recent initiatives “dovetail” with Pittsburgh’s “Climate Action Plan 3.0,” which pledges that by 2030 city operations will use 100 percent renewable energy, will operate a vehicle fleet that is free of fossil fuels and divest from fossil fuels. Additionally, the city pledges to reduce energy and water usage and transportation emissions by 50 percent by 2030.
Mr. McNulty was not available for further comment on Sunday.
Mr. Peduto’s Sunday schedule included a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, site of one of the death camps in Nazi-occupied Poland, and a meeting with Tom Steyer, the founder of NextGen America, a clean energy advocacy organization.
According to the city, conference organizers paid for Mr. Peduto’s trip, with no city tax dollars being used.
Mr. Peduto is scheduled to return to Pittsburgh on Thursday.