In March 2019, Mayor Bryan Paterson was confirmed as a member of the world's largest coalition of city leaders addressing climate change. Mayor Paterson announced his intent to join the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy at the Feb. 19, 2019 regular council meeting.

As a member of this global covenant, Mayor Paterson joins an international coalition of city leaders dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, making their communities more resilient to the unavoidable impacts of climate change, and providing access to sustainable energy.

As a member city of the Global Covenant of Mayor's for Climate & Energy, Kingston will take the following actions:

• Take stock of local greenhouse emissions and the current effects of climate change;
• Create an action plan including clear and ambitious CO2 reduction targets;
• Design resilience strategies and set goals to improve access to sustainable energy;
• Regularly report on the progress made.

Joining the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy reinforces Kingston's commitment to prioritizing climate leadership and recognizing climate change as a critical global issue.

The actions taken at a local level can have a global impact.

The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy brings together the commitments of thousands of cities in more than 120 countries and six continents, representing almost 10 per cent of the world's population as of March 2018. By 2030, Global

Covenant cities and local governments could collectively reduce 1.3 billion tons of CO2 emissions per year from business-as-usual. This equals the emissions of 276 million cars taken off the road.

View Kingston's Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy profile.