U20

Context: Tokyo is hosting the second U20 Mayors Summit. The summit takes place one month ahead of the G20 Osaka Summit. This will allow invited Mayors to discuss and approve a communiqué which will be formally presented to the G20.

Themes of Mayoral Sessions:

1. Climate Action
2. Circular Economy
3. Social Inclusion and Integration
4. Sustainable Economic Growth
5. Gender Equality

Outcomes of the summit:

• Mayors of 30 major cities from across the world have urged the Global leaders to act fast on climate change, social inclusion and sustainable economic growth.
• The issues highlighted by the mayors and city governors are represented in the United Nations-mandated sustainable development goals, the deadline of which is 2030.
• It urged G20 leaders to ensure greenhouse gas emissions reduce substantially by ‘30 and reach net zero by 2050, ensure access of adequate housing to all populations.

What is U20?

• Urban 20 (U20) is an initiative developed in 2017 under the leadership of the Mayor of Buenos Aires and Mayor of Paris, and convened by the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) in collaboration with United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).
• Launched on December 12, 2017 at the One Planet Summit in Paris.
• U20 seeks to develop a joint position and collective messages to inform and enrich the discussions of national leaders at the G20 Summit through unique urban perspectives.
• Urban 20, or U20, aims to tackle global challenges by leveraging the potential of cities as hubs of diversity and innovation.
• Urban 20 is composed of 25 global cities: Beijing, Berlin, City of Buenos Aires, Chicago, Durban, Hamburg, Jakarta, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Milan, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Sydney, Tokyo, and Tshwane.

Sources: the Hindu.