Paris declares ‘climate emergency’

PARIS: Paris, which in 2015 hosted the signing of a historic agreement on fighting global warming, on Tuesday declared a climate emergency following similar moves by other cities and national parliaments.

"Paris, like other cities, declares a climate emergency," Celia Blauel, deputy mayor in charge of the environment, told a municipal council meeting, stressing the need to adhere to the objectives of the 2015 agreement.

The declaration also said Paris city hall would create a "climate academy" with the aim of better educating the young and the public about the issue. Ahead of municipal elections next year, the French capital’s socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo is seeking to burnish her green credentials, with climate change a real concern for many voters.

Britain’s parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency, passing the largely symbolic motion on May 1, with Ireland’s parliament passing a similar motion on May 10.

According to The Climate Mobilisation, a US NGO pushing for such declarations, some 650 local authorities in cities and towns across the world have now declared a climate emergency. In a major victory for the activists, New York City declared a climate emergency on June 26, becoming the biggest city to make the announcement.

The 2015 Paris deal saw nations commit to limit global temperature rises to "well below" two degrees Celsius and to a 1.5C cap if possible. But in a major blow, President Donald Trump announced in June 2017 that the United States was pulling out of the agreement.