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Cities to Step Up at UN to Push Climate Fight, Sustainable Development

Reuters

   UNITED NATIONS - As some world leaders question whether the world is
   facing a climate emergency, more than a dozen cities are stepping up to
   tackle global warming and sustainable development and will next week
   pledge to report their progress to the United Nations.

   Sixteen cities will commit to implementing global goals to end poverty,
   inequality and other challenges by 2030 during the annual gathering of
   world leaders at the United Nations. They will sign a voluntary
   declaration drafted by New York City.

   The set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals, unanimously approved by
   the 193 U.N. member nations in 2015, is a wide-ranging "to-do" list
   tackling such issues as conflict, hunger, land degradation, gender
   equality and climate change.

   "We are living in a time when national governments are abdicating their
   responsibility on urgent issues. That is why cities are stepping up,"
   said New York City's International Affairs Commissioner Penny
   Abeywardena.

   U.S. President Donald Trump, who has described global warming as a
   hoax, dealt a blow to U.N.-led efforts to fight climate change when he
   pulled the United States from the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord.

   Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has also expressed doubts as to
   whether climate change is man-made and is ambivalent about the Paris
   accord, though he walked back a campaign pledge to quit the pact.

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