Mayors from around the world wrapped up a four-day climate change summit in New York Thursday by calling on the leaders of the world's most powerful countries to act now to combat global warming.
The Large Cities summit groups 46 of the world's largest and polluted cities whose leaders have identified tackling climate change as a priority, often overriding the policies of their national governments.
"We urge G8 leaders at their forthcoming summit in Heiligendamm to commit to a long-term goal for the stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations," the mayors said in a joint statement.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone expressed hope that the Group of Eight could reach consensus at the talks in Germany next month, but criticized US President George W. Bush for his continued opposition to most climate change proposals.
"I don't know what they're going to with president Bush, but perhaps the rest of them could actually settle down and set a realistic target" for a reduction of greenhouse gasses, he said, describing Bush as "still in denial."
The New York summit on Wednesday unveiled an ambitious five-billion-dollar initiative to refit existing buildings in 16 cities around the world with energy-efficient technology that could slash energy use by up to 50 percent.
"The work of the C40 is only just beginning. We, like everybody else, have spent a lot of time talking," Livingstone said Thursday. "Now is the time to start doing the real work."
Livingstone, one of the major drivers behind the plan, said the program -- unveiled in conjunction with former US president Bill Clinton -- could cut worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by one tenth over the next decade.
"If we look at the pattern of carbon emissions around the world, in the decade that follows this decision, as this new global industry takes off, we can reduce total global carbon emissions by about 10 percent," he said.
The so-called energy efficiency building retrofit program brings together Clinton's private foundation, four of the largest energy service companies, five of the world's biggest banks and cities from four continents.
"This is not just an initiative, this is the biggest single step to tackle climate change that has been taken by any layers of government anywhere in the world since the debate about climate change started," Livingstone said.
Cities use more than 75 percent of the world's energy and generate more than 75 percent of its greenhouse gases, Clinton said, identifying energy wasted by buildings as among the leading causes of global warming.
"If all buildings were as efficient as they could be, we'd be saving an enormous amount of energy and significantly reducing carbon emissions," he told reporters on Wednesday.
The program would provide funding for cities and private building owners to introduce modern energy-saving solutions, from more efficient light bulbs to better insulation and heating systems.
The energy savings are in time expected to offset the costs of the program, the mayors said, without specifying a time frame.
The cities involved in the initiative include Bangkok, Berlin, Chicago, Houston, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Toronto.
The next Large Cities summit is to be held in Seoul at a yet to be determined date within the next two years.
