Polis and its members active at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris (COP21)
The COPs’ main objective is to review the implementation of the Rio Convention on Climate Change. From November, 30 until December, 11 2015, COP21, also known as the 2015 Paris Climate Conference, will take place in Paris-Le Bourget site. For the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations it will aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the goal of keeping global warming below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels. This objective is to be achieved by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and the main negotiations will revolve around the pledges that countries make with regards to national GHG reduction. The conference is expected to attract close to 50,000 participants including 25,000 official delegates from government, intergovernmental organisations, UN agencies, NGOs and civil society.
Polis will be participating in COP21 as a speaker and for networking purposes. Polis’ Secretary General Karen Vancluysen will attend the official ‘Transport Thematic Action Day’ on 3 December together with the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb. The Transport Day will contribute to the development of a Road Map for action on Transport and Climate Change that lays out a pathway for a potential transport development. Alongside that, Polis’ Secretary General will also be part of several other events, such as the EU flagship event organised by European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc.
From 3 to 6 December, the deputy mayor of Rotterdam Pex Langenberg will participate in the panel on sustainable urban mobility on the local COP21 podium.
On 4 December Polis member Île-de-France is organising an event on “Innovative and Sustainable Mobility: Towards a smart administration of mobility and energy in major metropolis”. Polis Secretary General will be among the panellists. Île-de-France is participating in a number of other events as well.
The city of Bristol, which is co-hosting the Cities and Regions Pavilion at COP21, will share its experience and knowledge about sustainability gained in 2015 when the city carried the title ‘European Green Capital’. Bristol will do this through a free online toolkit called The Bristol Method. The Bristol Method comprises a series of ‘how to’ documents that cover a range of subjects, including the five themes of Bristol’s Green Capital year (energy, resources, transport, food and nature). In addition to that, the city is organising ‘Bristol Sessions’ and will participate in other events as well.
As an interesting fact, COP21 organising committee is encouraging participants to get to the site by public transport. As part of an effort to minimize the conference’s carbon footprint, all accredited participants will be provided with free transport passes for all greater Paris transportation networks — at a total cost of €79.5 million.