Mayor warns tackling climate change is an ‘existential fight between the climate wreckers and the climate defenders’

• Sadiq at C40 World Mayor’s Summit where he will deliver speech warning challenge to tackle climate change more stark than ever before

• Sadiq will meet with Mayors from nearly 300 cities to lead critical discussions on action major cities can take to help tackle the climate crisis

• Mayor announces new collective C40 goal to save over 450,000 lives from air pollution by 2040, saving more than $840 billion by reducing air pollution

• Sadiq will meet with global climate leaders - including Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 president, Ana Toni, Brazilian Secretary for Climate Change and CEO of COP30 and UN Assistant General Secretary on Climate, Selwyn Hart

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan will today warn city leaders and others from across the world that tackling climate change is ‘an existential fight between the climate wreckers and the climate defenders.’

Speaking at the start of the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, the Mayor will warn that the challenge the world faces today to combat climate change is more stark than ever before.

As co-chair of C40 cities, Sadiq is leading critical discussions this week with more than 300 global Mayors on the direct-action major cities can take to help tackle the climate crisis while creating millions of new green jobs.

Mayors are doers, not delayers, and C40 mayors – who represent over 900 million people across the world and one quarter of the global economy - are committed to delivering on the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement at the local level. Ahead of COP30, which takes place in Belem in the Amazon, this summit will send a clear message that cities are key to tackling climate change, with the summit addressing how to confront tough issues including disinformation, inequality and the huge gap in urban climate finance that is restricting the progress. 

At the Summit, Sadiq will confirm that 73 per cent of C40 cities have already peaked their climate emissions, meaning that their greenhouse gas emissions have now stopped growing and are in decline.

Sadiq will also announce today a new collective goal for the global group of 51 mayors in C40's Clean Air Accelerator to save over 450,000 lives from air pollution by 2040, saving more than $840 billion by reducing air pollution.    

On the challenge the world faces today to combat climate change, Sadiq is expected to say at the C40 World Summit Plenary Session: 

“We recognise that now is not the time to run down the clock, but up the pace.

“This isn’t new or novel to most of the Mayors in this room.

“We know that we’ve long been the climate doers, while too many nation-states have been the climate delayers.

“But the challenge we face today is more stark.

“It’s no longer simply a case of the climate doers versus the climate delayers.

“Now, it’s an existential fight between the climate wreckers and the climate defenders.

On facing down climate change deniers, Sadiq is expected to say: 

“With a little will and imagination – we can overcome the cynicism.

“We can overcome the opposition; vested interests; and misinformation.

“And we can deliver meaningful green policy that’s politically popular, scientifically sound, and – above all else – essential for the welfare and wellbeing of our communities.”

On the positive impact tackling climate change can have on millions of people around the world, Sadiq is expected to say: 

“The likes of C40 – the climate defenders – offer us a credible, tried-and-tested alternative.

“They offer our people freedom, dignity and hope.

“The freedom of lower bills and better health.

“The dignity of a secure and well-paid green job.

“The hope of a fairer, safer, cleaner, brighter and more prosperous tomorrow.”

The C40 World Mayors Summit is a defining moment for city-led climate leadership ahead of COP30. The Summit will kick off with the Local Leaders Forum, co-hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies and COP30 Presidency, placing subnational voices at the centre of the COP30 process and elevating bold, scalable climate solutions from global mayors and subnational leaders.

While at the summit the Mayor will be speaking to fellow mayors and local leaders, such as Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, Mayor of Freetown, Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris and André Correa do Lago, COP30 President about the importance of the fight against climate change and how disinformation fuels real-world harm from hateful online abuse to vandalism and threats of violence. Sadiq will also meet with Ana Toni, Brazilian Secretary for Climate Change and CEO of COP30, to discuss the importance of collaboration between cities and Government ahead of COP30.

The Mayor will also attend the Earthshot awards, which were founded by HRH Prince William in 2020, and has already awarded over £20 million in prize grants and supported more than 60 Finalists and Winners around the world, helping to scale transformative initiatives that are working to repair and regenerate the planet. Previous editions of the Prize have taken place in London, Boston, Singapore, and most recently, Cape Town. This year marks the first time the ceremony will be held in Latin America.  

London’s leadership is at the heart of the C40’s global movement to help inspire and accelerate climate action, with the Mayor leading the way on climate action tackling the sources of air pollution, through initiatives such as the expansion of Ultra Low Emission Zone, delivering the London-wide ULEZ scrappage scheme, investing in the London tube and train network, such as the launch of the Elizabeth Line and supporting London boroughs to deliver local measures through a £27m Mayor’s Air Quality Fund. The Mayor has also launched the £2.7m School Filters Programme installing indoor air quality filters into over 200 primary schools to tackle Particulate Matter (PM2.5) in classrooms, and in September Government announced that for the first time ever London was within legal limits for NO2 pollution – almost 200 years ahead of predictions. London has more than 2,500 zero-emission buses on the capital's streets, making it the largest zero-emission fleet in Europe.

C40 Clean Air Accelerator, launched six years ago and led by Sadiq, is now a global cohort of 51 cities, influencing action far beyond the network. Signatories to today’s commitment to save over 450,000 lives from air pollution have committed to continuing to implement new clean air solutions. This includes examples from the following Breathe Cities:  

• Nairobi has established its first city-owned air quality monitoring network with 50 new sensors to inform policies
• Rio de Janeiro is accelerating the electrification of its bus fleet and implementing its Low Emission District along with new pedestrian, cycling and electric vehicle infrastructure in the city centre.
• Bangkok is developing the city’s first long-term clean air management plan to put them in a pathway to meet national and WHO guidelines, with key measures including expanding its current Low Emission Zone and accelerating ambitious transport measures.

Speaking ahead of the C40 World Mayor’s Summit, Mark Watts, Executive Director of C40 Cities, said: “C40-Chair, Mayor Sadiq Khan, has been in the driving seat of what bold climate leadership looks like, from implementing the world's largest clean air zone to improving the health of millions of Londoners to creating thousands of good green jobs. He will convene the C40 World Mayors Summit, as part of the COP30 Local Leaders Forum, as a critical moment to showcase the practical and urgent solutions that leading global mayors are delivering to address climate breakdown. The Summit will chart a clear course for what is next, including how national governments can unleash the potential of subnational leadership to deliver on climate goals.”

Mayor Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, said: “Hosting the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio, alongside Mayor Sadiq Khan, is a pivotal moment ahead of COP30 in Brazil, setting the stage for crucial discussions on how cities like ours are driving global climate action. This Summit is the critical launchpad for the COP30 Local Leaders Forum, underscoring that global goals need local action. With the world focused on Brazil's climate leadership and the first Amazon COP, the Summit proves that city-led solutions are the real, practical steps needed for climate justice.”