Mayor Park further commits Seoul to reduce the use of fossil and nuclear energy in municipal operations by at least 30% by 2020 compared to 2010

22 October 2012, Seoul, Republic of Korea - In his first global action as the new Chair of World Mayors Council on Climate Change (WMCCC), Mayor Park Won Soon of Seoul announced the 2012 Seoul Declaration of Local Governments on Energy and Climate Mitigation; the initiative aims to ensure significant energy and emissions savings.

As a demonstration of his leadership, Mayor Park announced that the Seoul Metropolitan Government will commit to reduce the consumption of fossil and nuclear energy of municipal operations by at least 30% by 2020, compared to 2010 consumption levels.

The announcement was made at the World Mayors Dialogue in Seoul, where more than 30 Mayors from around the world gathered. The event celebrated the official transfer of leadership of the WMCCC from Mayor Marcelo Ebrard of Mexico City to Mayor Park Won Soon of Seoul.

The 2012 Seoul Declaration of Local Governments on Energy and Climate Mitigation sets sights on advancing energy and emissions savings at both municipal and community-level operations. It encourages reporting to Mexico City Pact and carbonn Cities Climate Registry and foresees a global review in Nantes in 2013.

The ICLEI Global Executive Committee and the WMCCC will work proactively to engage members and partner local governments to reach the objectives set forth in the declaration.

The initiative is also a key instrument designed to inspire cities worldwide and to encourage them to emulate the vision laid out in Mayor Park's ambitious plan "One Less Nuclear Power Plant" which aims to reduce Seoul's energy consumption by 2 million toe (tonne of oil equivalent), save 7.3 million tCO2e (tonnes of CO2 equivalent), create 40,000 jobs and save $1.2 billion USD by 2014—all through strong citizen engagement.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), embraces this bold initiative led by Mayor Park; she believes that this is one of the hard but essential steps necessary to achieve the low-carbon cities of tomorrow.

Representatives from world-leading environmental organizations, like Bill McKibben of 350.org and Samantha Smith of WWF International, as well as Korean environmental groups like Local Sustainability Alliance for Korea (LSAK), applauded the bold vision and ambitious goals of the declaration and expressed their firm support in assisting in its implementation.

The World Mayors Dialogue and the 2012 Seoul Declaration of Local Government on Energy and Climate Mitigation came out ahead of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties ministerial meeting on climate currently held in South Korea.

About ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
ICLEI is the world's leading association of cities and local governments dedicated to sustainable development. We are a powerful movement of 12 mega- cities, 100 super-cities and urban regions, 450 large cities as well as 450 small and medium-sized cities and towns in 84 countries. We promote local action for global sustainability and supports cities to become sustainable, resilient, resource-efficient, biodiverse, low-carbon; to build a smart infrastructure; and to develop an inclusive, green urban economy with the ultimate aim to achieve healthy and happy communities.
www.iclei.org

About the World Mayors Council on Climate Change (WMCCC)
The World Mayors Council on Climate Change is a partner to the World Mayors Summit on Climate being held on 21 November in Mexico City. The WMCCC is an alliance of committed local government leaders advocating an enhanced recognition and involvement of Mayors in global efforts to address climate change. As such it plays an instrumental role in building political leadership around the carbonn Cities Climate Registry. The World Mayors Council has been supported by ICLEI since its inception in 2005.
www.worldmayorscouncil.org