Dan Esty at the C40 Mayors Summit in Mexico City

On December 2, 2016, Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy Director Dan Esty joined mayors from around the world in Mexico City for the C40 Mayors Summit. 

The Summit, which ran from November 30 to December 2, represented an international commitment “to continue the momentum for action to reduce the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, building on last year’s Paris Climate Change Agreement.” 

One of the driving forces behind this momentum has been the commitment of cities to addressing climate change. “As Christiana Figures, the former United Nations climate change negotiations coordinator, told the assembled mayors earlier today: nation governments have set the direction, but it up to cities to deliver the emissions reductions. This focus on ‘bottom up’ activity represents one of the breakthrough elements of last year’s Paris accord. It is great to see the spirit of Paris and the commitment of so many mayors to on-the-ground results blossoming,” Dan wrote. 

On Friday, Dan moderated a panel, “We’re All in this Together: Building a Coalition Between Nations, States and Cities,” that underscored the critical need for broader engagement in efforts to reduce the impact of climate change. Its discussion touched on many of the themes that are central to the work of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, such as the need for a “bottom-up climate fix” and the engagement of subnational actors and business interests in sustainability efforts through the Yale Climate Change Dialogue.

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You can also find coverage in the New York Times, Huffington Post, Deutsche Welle, LA Times, Citylab, Christian Science Monitor, GreenBiz, ThinkProgress, Xinhua, NDTV and National Geographic.