C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group

C40 supports a range of left-of-center and progressive economic policies, including increased regulations on pollution, subsidies for weather-dependent energy sources, and increased municipal government control over local economies. C40 emphasizes “equity” and “climate justice” in its plans and has implemented a Global Green New Deal consisting of a pledge by cities to acknowledge climate change as an “emergency” and factor progressive priorities into their policy decision-making. ^{2 3}

C40’s current and first board chairs are London mayors. Many of its current executive team, including executive director Mark Watts, are based in London and have worked directly under its mayors.

History

In 2005, London Mayor Ken Livingstone convened a meeting of representatives from 18 large cities to sign a cooperative agreement to reduce climate change-related emissions. The agreement was known as C20. The following year, former President Bill Clinton (D)’s Climate Initiative merged with C20 to form C40. In 2007, then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) joined the C40 and hosted its second annual conference. ⁴

Goals

Emissions Reduction

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group supports its member cities in establishing emissions reduction plans with the goal in line with the Paris Accords agreement of preventing a rise of more than 1.5° Celsius in warming. To achieve this, city climate plans must include a goal of carbon neutrality by 2030 or 2050, though wealthier cities are expected to curb emissions faster than poorer cities. Individual city members may make commitments of varying scale and intensity to combat climate change. ⁵ In 2016, all members were officially required to create an individual plan. ⁴

Global Green New Deal

C40’s plans to combat climate change include recommendations to factor “equity” and social justice to rebalance the disproportionate burden of climate change impacts allegedly borne by women and the poor around the world. C40’s website states that “there is no climate justice without social justice.” ²

The Global Green New Deal is a set of principles adopted by C40 members to include progressive priorities in their environmentalist policies. The principles are a commitment to recognize a “global climate emergency,” to keep global warming below 1.5°C, to put “inclusive climate action at the center” of all policy decision-making, and to encourage other civic leaders (politicians, unions, CEOs, etc.) to declare a “climate emergency.” ³

In 2020, C20 announced its intention to recruit over 1,000 cities to sign the Global Green New Deal. ⁶

Like the World Economic Forum, C40 asserts that the global COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity for world leaders to realign political and economic priorities to put “communities over profit.” G20’s website states: “A Global Green New Deal is not just about implementing new policies or providing temporary support – it’s also about reckoning with, addressing, and transforming old policies and systems that have contributed to injustices suffered by frontline communities for decades (if not centuries).” ³

Private Sector

C40 encourages city governments to subsidize companies that will transition the economy to lower emissions, particularly weather-dependent energy companies. ⁷

C40 works with city members in poorer countries to improve their credit ratings so they may borrow more money from international markets to invest in environmentalist infrastructure. ⁸

C40’s Divest/Invest Forum assists municipal investment and pension funds in divesting from fossil fuel companies. ⁹

Paris Agreement

After President Donald Trump (R) withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, C40 coordinated among its members to abide by the agreement’s directives. ¹⁰

At C40’s annual meeting in 2019, then-C40 board chair Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) announced that he and other mayors would ask the United Nations if they could circumvent President Trump by signing the Paris Agreement directly. ¹¹

Controversy

Recommendations on Clothing, Air Travel, and Car Ownership

A report released by the C40 group made recommendations against buying no more than three articles of clothing per year, against privately owning a vehicle, and flying no more than one every three years by 2030. In addition to these actions, the group also called for member cities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in half and for meat consumption to be reduced to zero by 2030 as well. Written in collaboration with the University of Leeds in England, the report calls for “consumption interventions” in ensuring “no meat, no dairy and no private vehicles.” ¹² The Wall Street Journal had compared several of these recommendations, particularly reduction in air travel, to “climate lockdowns.” ¹²

Members

The United States has 14 cities that are members of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the most of any country in the world. American members include nearly all of the country’s largest and most prominent cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. ¹³

In Europe, C40 members include most major capitals: London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Istanbul, Berlin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Oslo, etc. ¹⁴

In Asia, C40 members include Tokyo, Bangkok, Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Seoul, and Singapore. 13 Chinese cities are members of the C40, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. Six Indian cities are members, including Delhi and Mumbai. ¹⁴

There are 13 C40 members in Africa, and 12 in South America. Dubai, Tel Aviv, and Amman, Jordan, are the only C40 members in the Middle East. ¹⁴

Leadership

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group board chair is elected every three years from its members. In 2021, London Mayor Sadiq Khan was elected board chair. A month earlier, he gave a keynote speech at the United Nations’ 2021 Climate Change Conference (also known as COP26) in which he promised to align C40’s emissions reduction strategy to protect the “global South” from the negative impacts of climate change. He was also one of the first political leaders to declare a “climate emergency.” Since becoming board chair, Mayor Khan has pledged to support the C40’s Green New Deal program with the assistance of the Open Society Foundations. ¹⁵

C40’s previous board chairs have included then-Mayors Eric Garcetti (D) of Los Angeles, Anne Hidalgo of Paris, Eduardo Paes of Rio de Janeiro, Michael Bloomberg (I) of New York City, David Miller of Toronto, and Ken Livingstone of London. ¹⁵

Many of C40’s executives previously worked under London Mayors Sadiq Khan and Ken Livingstone. ¹⁶

Mark Watts

Mark Watts has served as executive director of C40 since 2013. From 2000-2008, Watts was a senior advisor to then-London Mayor Ken Livingstone, the first board chair of C40. ¹⁷ During Watts’ tenure at C40, its staff has grown from 40 ¹⁸ to over 300. ¹⁶ Watts is a member of the council of the Global Green Growth Institute. ¹⁹

Kevin Austin

C40 deputy executive director Kevin Austin also worked under Livingstone prior to joining the organization. From 2002-2009, he was head of transport in London. Austin also worked under then-Mayor Boris Johnson on preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics. ¹⁶

Cassie Sutherland

C40 managing director of climate solutions and networks Cassie Sutherland previously worked at the Greater London Authority (also known as “city hall”) under London Mayor and current C40 board chair Sadiq Khan, where she ran the London Environmental Strategy. ¹⁶

Juliette Carter

C40 managing director of corporate services Juliette Carter previously worked at the Greater London Authority as head of human resources and organization development under Mayor Khan and his predecessor. ¹⁶

David Miller

C40 managing director of climate policy and economy David Miller is the former mayor of Toronto and board chair of C40. ¹⁶

Funding

In 2019, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group earned $30,723,237 in revenue, including $28,687,914 in contributions. ²⁰

C40 lists its funders by category but provides no information on funding amounts. The highest funding category, “strategic funders,” consists of Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and Realdania. ²¹

The second highest category, “major funders,” includes the governments of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Denmark; George Soros’s Open Society Foundations; the Oak Foundation; and the ClimateWorks Foundation. ²¹

The next category, “funders,” includes Google, the Wellcome Fund, Novo Nordisk, and the European Climate Foundation. ²¹

C40’s “city network partners” are Cities Alliance, the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, Local Governments for Sustainability, and United Cities and Local Governments. ²²

C40’s “partners” include the World Bank, the Clinton Foundation, the World Resources Institute, and the Climate Leadership Initiative. ²¹