Auckland mayor to represent NZ at international climate change conference

Mayor of Auckland city, Dick Hubbard, has been selected by the Ministry for the Environment to represent New Zealand at the Mayor’s Council on Climate Change summit in Kyoto, Japan this month (16-18 February 2007).

The forum was set up in June 2005 by Mayor Yorikane Masumoto (Kyoto, Japan) in consultation with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

The purpose of the forum is to:

• politically promote climate protection policies at the local level
  


• to foster international cooperation of municipal leaders on achieving climate change targets
  


• to strengthen the political profile and impact of the Cities for Climate Protection Campaign
  


• help, through advocacy, make the multilateral mechanisms for global climate protection effective.
  

"Cities across New Zealand and around the world know this is a critical issue and are seriously looking at what practical actions we can take – in our homes, in our communities and in our cities,” Mayor Hubbard says.

”I am looking forward to learning the most effective methods and most practical ways that cities are contributing to the global effort and sharing with other delegates our own thoughts on important issues such as adapting to a changing global environment.

“We are all grappling with the changes in our own behaviour that need to happen, and happen fast, “ he says, “I am privileged to be able to participate and share in this historic gathering.”

ENDS

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