C40 Tokyo Conference on Climate Change

Today, a major meeting of large cities, as part of the C40 Climate Leadership Group, is starting in Tokyo. C40 is a group of the world's largest cities committed to tackling climate change.

Cities have a central role to play in tackling climate change, particularly as cities bear a disproportional responsibility for causing it. In fact, cities consume 75 per cent of the world's energy and produce 80 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions. That is why it is so important for cities to work together, set the agenda on this issue and show leadership on this issue.

I'm surprised how little attention this meeting is getting in the media. Nothing on Reuters, nothing on BBC. We live in an age of local media pretending to be relevant to everyone on Earth, where the US banking crisis top news day-out-and-day-in, with billion dollar bailouts for banks, and pennies for environmental protection... Glad to see Tokyo mayor Shintaro Ishihara expecting to launch specific joint actions for collaboration between cities, which will fully utilize the advanced technology of Tokyo... Anyway, action speaks louder than words, guys!

Addressing the conference, Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara stressed the importance of implementing specific measures, saying it is not enough to share a sense of crisis among participants.

In a keynote lecture, Martin Parry, former chairman of a working group of the UN climate change panel, warned that global warming is beginning to seriously affect urban life. He cited water shortages stemming from decreased rainfall and a rising number of deaths from extreme heat. He urged the participants to take countermeasures as soon as possible while predicting future trends in climate change.

NHK World: Major world cities meet on global warming