Local government are the only level of government to act decisively on climate change, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, has said ahead of the UN’s Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen.

 

Cr Doyle is part of a delegation, consisting also of Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, that will attend the Climate Change Summit for Mayors, which will run parallel to the COP15 summit, from December 14-17.

 

Mayors from more than 55 cities around the world will gather for the summit including London, Los Angeles, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Toronto and Buenos Aires.

 

Cr Doyle said that local government in Australia had already demonstrated its determination to act on climate change.

 

“Local government has an area of responsibility that is practical and output-focused, so while others talk, we do,” Cr Doyle said.

 

“In the climate change arena we have been working for a number of years to put into place programs that bring real benefit to our community.”

 

Cr Doyle said the partnership formed with the Rudd Government had been a model for government collaboration on climate change.

 

“In August 2009 I was part of a group from the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors that met with the Prime Minister and the Federal Minister for Local Government, Anthony Albanese, to lobby for support from the Federal Government in getting cities and local communities recognised in future climate change agreements,” he said.

 

“On a local front, the Prime Minister agreed to work in partnership with local government to address climate change in capital cities.”

 

Melbourne and Sydney are signatories to the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, which signed an agreement in 2005 to make greater efforts to tackle climate change.

 

The grouping recognises the need for cities to take action and to cooperate on reducing climate emissions, through a number of action points, including the creation of procurement policies and alliances to accelerate the uptake of climate-friendly technologies and influence the market place.|