Report on International Travel - C40 Women4Climate Summit, Paris and City of London
11/03/2019 - Report on International Travel - C40 Women4Climate Summit, Paris and City of London
Minute by the Lord Mayor
Council:
On 10 December 2018, Council endorsed my participation in the third annual C40 Women4Climate Summit, which was held in Paris on 21 February 2019, and for further travel to London to meet with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and his Deputy Mayors and staff on 22 February 2019.
In this Minute, I provide a report back to Council about the trip and recommendations for action on the key issues and challenges arising from the Summit and my meetings in London.
While in Paris, I spoke at a number of high profile events and media conferences. I was asked to talk about our experience taking significant action on climate change despite hostile Federal and State Governments, our work fostering a green economy, and how I’ve seen the city change during my time as Lord Mayor.
In London my agenda for the day included:
· Meeting with Mayor Sadiq Khan;
· Joint Media Conference;
· Bilateral with Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor Culture and the Creative Industries;
· Bilateral with James Murray, Deputy Mayor Housing;
· Visit to Kings Crescent Estate, an affordable housing project with Deputy Mayor Murray and Philip Glanville the Mayor of Hackney; and
· Visit to Sir John Cass’s Foundation School to learn about the City of London’s air quality monitoring work and to look at a system located in the school.
My visit to both cities resulted in a number of media articles, across domestic and international media, as well as interviews with American and European radio and television reaching a global audience. On social media, our work reached well over 100,000 people across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. See Attachment A for a list of stories.
A key theme in media coverage, and an inspiring
message for global and particularly U.S. Mayors, was Sydney’s capacity to set
long-term strategy using ambitious emissions reductions targets and practical
actions to achieve our objectives.
Justice for Climate
Conference
The City of Paris hosted a conference focused on climate justice the day before
the Women4Climate conference was held.
Mayor of Paris and C40 Chair, Anne Hidalgo, brought together mayors, leading
activists, legal representatives and business leaders to discuss recent legal
action undertaken by both city leaders and not for profit groups to force
climate action and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
To date, no major industrialised country is on track to meet the emissions
reduction pledges that were agreed as part of the Paris Agreement. And while
many national and state governments are failing to act, city leaders and their
citizens are starting to successfully challenge this lack of action in the
courts.
Recent cases discussed in the conference included:
Paris, Madrid and Brussels - in
November 2018 a citizen-led petition, turned into a legal case by the mayors of
Paris, Madrid and Brussels, scored a major victory by overturning the European
Union’s ineffective policy on diesel emissions. Also important was the fact
that the General Court of the European Union accepted the ‘admissibility of the
actions’ by the cities to challenge European law. Prior to that, only cases
involving member states of the European Commission had been heard in the court.
The decision set new precedent for other cities to take up challenges.
Cape Town - in South Africa the
City of Cape Town has lodged a high-court application to allow it to purchase
electricity from independent power producers operating with renewable energy.
Currently cities and towns in South Africa are tied to one energy provider –
Eskom – which relies predominantly on coal.
French Petition – two million
French citizens have signed a petition to sue the French national Government
for climate “in-action” and to ask for the urgent implementation of the Paris
Agreement. Their goal is to have the Court recognise the obligation of the
National Government to act to limit global warming to 1.5C to protect French
people from the risks of climate change.
The Netherlands - in 2015, the Urgenda foundation and 900 Dutch citizens asked their High
Court to recognise a “duty of care” and the introduction of an obligation to
protect citizens and nature against global warming and polluting activities. On
October 9 2018, the Judges agreed to that principle and Urgenda
won their lawsuit against the Dutch State, forcing it to take stronger action
to address climate change. The Dutch Government announced its intention to
appeal the decision in November 2018.
USA - Similar action has been
brought by students in the US in the case Juliana v. U.S. The plaintiffs are
all minors, their complaint asserts that their Government's actions are
contributing to climate change and that violates the youngest generation’s
constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property (equal-protection clause).
The case also asserts that their Government has failed to protect essential
public resources. The Trump Administration and the fossil fuel industry are
trying to do everything they can to stop or delay the case from being heard.
Australia
- On Friday 8 February 2019, the NSW Land and Environment Court
upheld a previous decision to refuse consent for the Rocky Hill open cut coal
mine in Gloucester. Justice Preston rejected the appeal saying the project was
“in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Wrong place because it impacted the
town’s amenity, and wrong time because science clearly shows that we need to
urgently and rapidly reduce emissions to meet the Paris Agreement. It was the
first time an Australian Court had heard evidence of a global budget of
greenhouse gas emissions to avoid dangerous climate change to justify the
refusal of a new coal mine. This case sets a precedent not just for Australia
but worldwide as well.
I spoke about the shameful lack of action in Australia. We are one of the
highest per capita emitters and have one of the lowest reduction targets of all
wealthy countries – 28 per cent over last decade.
Our Federal Government dismantled an effective carbon tax in 2013; slashed
renewable targets; abolished the independent climate change authority and
supported one of the world’s largest coal mines.
Our State Government increased land clearing by 800 per cent; approved the
expansion of a coal mine last year in Sydney’s water catchment area – one of
eight mines currently threatening our water supply; and is building WestConnex – the biggest private tolled motorway in the
world.
I outlined the terrible changes to our environment and climate that we are
already experiencing – the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef; the millions of
dead fish recently found in one of the country’s major river systems; the fact
that in 2018, our state was 100 per cent drought stricken; that out-of-control
bushfires in Tasmania had threatened our world heritage forests, and that
devastating floods had recently destroyed farms, cattle and wildlife in
Queensland and Western Australia.
I then spoke about the work at the City. That even though we are being hampered
by our National and State governments we have achieved impressive results
through our work with business and residents.
I outlined that our population and economy had increased by 37 per cent since
2006 and, with business as usual, our greenhouse emissions would have increased
by 50 per cent. Instead, we reduced emissions by 25 per cent in our own
operations and city-wide by 20 per cent.
I also spoke about the inspiring courage and conviction of the thousands of
students taking part in the school strikes to demand climate action. Young
people recognise the injustice - they have contributed the least to climate
change but will feel the brunt of its effects and stand to lose the most from
government inaction.
After that conference, I joined other Mayors and attended the 34th Dinner of
the French Jewish Community Umbrella Organisation where French President
Emmanuel Macron spoke about the dangers of anti-Semitism.
C40 Women4Climate Conference
The burden of climate change is not distributed
equally - the poor, women, children and indigenous people face disproportionate
risks. For people with no safety net, one drought can mean a tumble into
further hardship.
Those hit hardest by climate change are generally the least responsible for
causing it, and have the least capacity to adapt. The idea that vulnerable people,
particularly in developed nations, should be fairly considered was enshrined in
the Paris Agreement.
Men and women are affected differently by climate change due to different
social and cultural roles. Given existing gender inequalities and development
gaps, climate change places a greater burden on women.
Helping women fully participate in the fight against climate change has been
one of Mayor Hidalgo’s key priorities as C40 Chair.
The C40 Women4Climate initiative is focused on support for women leading the
fight against climate change and a mentorship program for the next generation
of women climate leaders.
The Women4Climate Summit is an annual event designed to bring global mayors,
business leaders and innovative change makers together to showcase how women
are taking the lead when it comes to climate action.
Before I left to go to the conference it was announced that the 4th
Women4Climate Summit would be held in Sydney in 2020.
Themes for the 2019 conference included:
· The Women4Climate Mentorship Programme: Empowering the climate heroines and female leaders of tomorrow;
· The launch of the Women4Climate research: Addressing gender inequality in cities around the world through inclusive climate action plans;
· The Women4Climate Tech Challenge: Promoting and implementing innovative solutions to climate change and air pollution by women around the world; and
· Inclusive climate action & equitable cities: Showcasing female mayors committed to improving the everyday lives of their citizens.
I
was involved in the following events as part of the conference:
Panel - What Makes a Smart
City?
More jobs, cleaner air,
safer communities - moderated by Sruthi
Gottipati, Editor-in-Chief, Brut
India.
Clover Moore, Lord Mayor of Sydney
Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago
Catherine Guillouard, President, RATP
Bertrand Camus, Group SEVP Africa, Middle East, India, Asia & Pacific, SUEZ
During this panel session I was asked what Sydney is doing to foster a green
economy and how we are ensuring that all residents will benefit. And how had I
seen the city change in my time as Mayor, as well as what I thought were the
biggest areas for growth?
It was exciting to learn about the work in Chicago – particularly their work
retrofitting buildings across their city area, which is similar to our work
with the BBP. So far, the project has included 90 buildings which have reduced
energy usage by 20 per cent. Chicago also has a project underway to replace all
their street lights with LEDs. They are currently two years into a four-year program.
Mayor
Emanuel spoke about how he had been inspired by the Mayor of Vancouver talking
about a similar project at a previous C40 event and I informed him that our LED
program was also inspired by a fellow C40 city – Los Angeles. Chicago has also
set a target to convert all street buses to electric buses by 2040. The City
Government purchases solar and wind renewable energy and has worked to make
cycling a faster, safer and more efficient option, which has resulted in
Chicago now becoming one of the leading cycling cities in the US.
I also found it interesting to learn that Chicago introduced a small fee for
all Uber and Lyft rides that goes into a public transport fund set up by the
City Government. They also charge Airbnb a small fee for all bookings that goes
to homelessness services and domestic violence shelters.
Media Sessions
Close to 80 journalists, representing all major French media and
international correspondents, attended the conference. I was interviewed in the
media room by numerous journalists including those from France 24, Radio
France, Elle magazine, Brut and Reuters International.
US Mayors Leading the Way
Press Conference
Since 2017, American mayors have emerged as the most passionate advocates for
bold climate action in America and internationally. At the Women4Climate
Conference, mayors and representatives of US cities updated the local and
international media on how they intended to continue their campaign to honour
the deal negotiated in Paris, and deliver sustainable, prosperous and healthy
cities, regardless of the rhetoric from the White House.
Speakers:
Mayor of Chicago, Illinois -
Rahm Emanuel
Mayor of Charlotte, North
Carolina - Vi Lyles
President of San Francisco
Commission on the Environment - Elmy
Bermejo
Additional speakers to comment on the global perspective:
Mayor of Paris and Chair of C40 –
Anne Hidalgo
Lord Mayor of Sydney,
Australia – Clover Moore
Closing Speech
I was asked to officially close the conference and to welcome everyone to
Sydney next year.
During my speech I stressed how important it was for us to have C40 in Sydney.
I said that our country is said to be the gateway to Asia – and that Asian
cities, including those in China, have a major role to play in the global
campaign to meet Paris targets.
That by hosting this conference in Sydney, we want to give a voice to the
majority of Australians who believe the science and want action. And we hope
that the presence of the Mayors at the C40 Women4Climate conference in Sydney
will encourage our national government to lead Australia – the world’s largest
coal exporter and one of the world’s highest emitters of greenhouse gases – in
taking more ambitious action to address climate change.
Women4Climate Tech Challenge
CEO Monica Barone also took part in the Summit. She was a judge in the
Women4Climate Tech Challenge – an international contest open to women designing
innovative, climate-focused tech solutions. The key goal of the Challenge was
to pilot projects that would have a measurable impact in cities.
The challenge was won by two young women:
· lodie Grimoin for her Urban Canopee project which will be trialled in Paris - Urban Canopee provides autonomous and connected vegetal structures which allows cities to massively accelerate greening wherever trees cannot grow.
·
Inna Braverman for her
Eco Wave Power project which will be trialled in Tel Aviv-Yafo - Eco Wave Power
allows energy to be extracted from ocean waves and converts it into
electricity. The technology allows for the generation of efficient, fully
renewable, and 100% emission-free electricity at affordable prices. Eco Wave
Power harnesses wave energy through uniquely shaped buoys that rise and fall
with the motion of the waves. In 2016, Eco Wave Power opened the first 100KW
grid connected power plant in Gibraltar.
Ultimately,
the Tech Challenge aims to cultivate ground-breaking climate solutions that can
be scaled and implemented in other C40 cities.
The CEO also held a number of side meetings with sponsors and C40 staff to
discuss our summit in 2020.
Friendship City Chicago
While I was at the C40 Women4Climate conference, the Mayor of Chicago asked if the
City of Sydney would sign a Sister City Agreement. The City of Sydney and
Chicago have much in common, including a focus on design and architecture,
climate action and public art.
Chicago and Illinois also have strong economic ties with Sydney and Australia.
There are over 30 Australian-based companies in the Chicago area, and 40
Chicago-area companies have a presence in Sydney. Total trade between Illinois
and Australia is $3.8 billion. The Australian Stock Exchange has its Australian
base in Sydney and its U.S. base in Chicago.
I agreed to the request, but stated that our agreement could only be a
Friendship City agreement as the Council in 1997 had resolved not to increase
the number of sister city relationships that the City had. So for us, the City
of Chicago is considered a “friendship city” but based on the City of Chicago’s
guidelines for sister city relationships, we are considered a “sister city.”
Either way, this agreement does not commit the City financially to any
commitments or require any new resources.
A full copy of the signed agreement is included in Attachment C.
London City
I was honoured that the City of London had organised a full program of
informative events and meetings for our visit.
My agenda for the day included:
· Meeting with Mayor Sadiq Khan;
· Joint Media Conference;
· Bilateral with Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor Culture and the Creative Industries;
· Bilateral with James Murray, Deputy Mayor Housing;
· Visit to Kings Crescent Estate, an affordable housing project with Deputy Mayor Murray and Philip Glanville the Mayor of Hackney; and
· Visit to Sir John Cass’s Foundation School to learn about the City of London’s air quality monitoring work and to look at a system located in the school.
Mayor
Khan and I spoke about the links between Australia and Britain, the affordable
housing crisis, diversity and integration, and the challenges of balancing the
city’s late night economy with a growing city population.
Mayor Khan spoke about how London City Hall lobbied their National Government
for action on issues critical to their community, including the need for more
affordable housing. The City uses their own planning laws to demand more
affordable housing on development sites across the city.
He spoke about the importance of integration in cities and the need to break
down silos. He said he felt a great responsibility to ensure London remained a
welcoming city.
He also said London was struggling with the same issue that we in Sydney are
facing around live music and residential growth. He said they had been inspired
by our work to introduce agent of change principles and had adopted them into
their own planning framework.
Justine Simons, the Deputy Mayor Culture and Creative Industries, is also Chair
of the World Cities Culture Forum, a network of local government and cultural
sector leaders from 39 world cities, providing global leadership on culture
through evidence, inspiration and global collaboration.
The City of Sydney has been a member since 2014 and has actively participated in
the Annual Summit of the Forum since 2017.
Justine was enthusiastic about the Forum’s 2018 Report and Making Space for
Culture, the most comprehensive reports ever published worldwide about culture
and the role it plays in shaping city life, which were released late last year.
These reports are based on extensive data and practice research, and
demonstrate the power of culture to bring communities together.
The City of Sydney contributed a case study to Making Space for Culture, which
sets out the work we are doing to reform planning policies to support the
creative industries.
Other highlights in the reports include:
· in Hong Kong, Rome and Moscow, mobile arts venues and libraries are used to bring culture closer to citizens in every corner of their cities, particularly those areas with traditionally lower engagement with arts and culture;
· projects in Montréal, San Francisco and Melbourne, have been developed in collaboration with, and in recognition of, indigenous populations to celebrate and fully acknowledge the cultures of First Nations;
· a number of cities are working with migrants and refugees to provide cultural opportunities to marginalised groups, from support to refugee artist residencies in Paris to Brussels, to offering film screenings to refugees in parks, asylum centres and people’s homes;
· Stockholm’s cultural administration has teamed up with media company Consigo on a project called Tactsenze, enabling the visually-impaired to learn an instrument, an example of social inclusion through technology; and
· to respond to the needs of a growing ageing population Amsterdam’s Age Friendly Cultural City program focuses specifically on cultural provision for the city’s older residents.
Justine
also spoke about a leading program London has established – the Culture at Risk
initiative – which is a hotline for venues at risk of closure due to rising
rates, increasing development and shifting populations. She said since it was
established it had saved 300 venues, from grassroots music venues to LGBTQ spaces.
She said Mayor Khan had made culture and creative spaces one of his key
priorities, because in the last decade London has lost 40 per cent of its live
music venues, 30 per cent of its artist studios and 50 per cent of its
nightclubs.
She said they were piloting six Creative Enterprise Zones across London. The
zones are a bold new project aimed at allowing artists and creative businesses
to put down roots in an area and protecting them from rising property prices.
These clusters of creative activity include long term affordable workspaces for
artists and creative businesses, support for start ups,
and new jobs and training for local communities.
The idea for the zones was developed to counter the threat to their City’s
creative workforce which saw many creatives pushed out of the very
neighbourhoods they had helped to revitalise because of the rapid pace of
development.
She also told us about another new initiative that they had launched called the
Creative Land Trust. The Trust is an independent organisation whose purpose is
to secure permanent workspaces for artists in London. It offers financing for
affordable workspace providers so that they can buy their own buildings as well
as purchasing its own property to be used as permanent workspaces in London.
Its aim is to secure 1000 affordable workspaces in its first five years. The
Trust has initially been funded via London City Hall, the Arts Council of
England, Outset Contemporary Art Fund and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The
work that they are undertaking is incredibly inspiring and I believe City of
Sydney staff should investigate London’s Culture at Risk initiative; the
Creative Enterprise Zones and Creative Land Trust as part of their work in
developing a cultural infrastructure strategy, to see if they would benefit our
city’s cultural and creative sector.
James Murray Deputy Mayor of Housing took us through London’s housing policies.
He said their national Government held most of the levers and funding for home
building and the City Government was responsible for the strategic planning.
He said Mayor Khan had made housing a priority when he was elected, in
particular a commitment that there would be no net loss of social housing and
that existing estates would be regenerated if the majority of residents in the
estate agreed.
He spoke about a similar challenge to what we face in Sydney, where their
National Government believes that you can trust the free market to solve the
housing issue – that increasing housing supply will solve the affordable
housing crisis. We both agreed that ideology had long been proven wrong.
London City Hall has a number of housing targets, including a strategic
planning target that there will be 50 per cent affordable housing in all new
developments. The Deputy Mayor is also investigating ways to support long-term
renters to save a deposit to purchase their own home.
Kings Crescent is an ambitious estate regeneration project by London architects
Karakusevic Carson, involving the comprehensive
redevelopment of the Kings Crescent Estate in Hackney.
The 100 million pound, five-year project is one of Hackney’s largest
regeneration schemes and part of Hackney Council’s program to deliver 3,000 new
homes across 18 sites – with more than half for social rent and low-cost home
ownership.
The full masterplan will see up to 472 new homes built, including:
· 97 council homes for social rent;
· 101 council homes for shared ownership; and
· the remainder for outright sale to help pay for them with little government funding for social housing.
The
social rent homes will be allocated to families on their housing waiting list,
with priority for residents in need living close to the development sites. The
shared ownership homes are prioritised for people living and working in Hackney
who are unable to afford to buy a home outright but are unlikely to be
prioritised for social housing.
As well as the new homes, 275 current social homes received improvement works,
including the installation of 'winter gardens' and balconies on homes that previously
had no private outdoor space of their own. By upgrading the existing housing
with large balconies, winter gardens and garages converted into new flats, the
existing residents were part of the development and were allowed to remain in
their homes throughout the works.
The development included the creation of new connections and permeable spaces
including three courtyards and a new public space.
The first phase is now complete and the Council has begun consultation on the
second phase, which will include up to 391 new and refurbished homes, new
community and commercial spaces, and a big investment in public areas.
I was struck by the quality of design and the fact that the buildings were all
low to mid rise – there were no tall towers. Each apartment block was designed
the same way so there was no discernible difference between the types of
housing. The Estate was surrounded by large, sunny green parks and even
included a community garden. While at the Estate, I met a number of residents
on low incomes who had been placed in new social housing and shared ownership
housing and their gratitude and pride in their home was very moving.
Mayor Khan has also made reducing air pollution a key priority.
London’s air quality is constantly monitored at around 100 different locations.
These sites are operated and funded by London boroughs. The London Air website,
run by King's College London, records real time and historical monitoring data.
They directly notify schools, care homes and GP surgeries when there is
moderate, high and very high pollution.
London is currently trialling a cutting-edge street-by-street air quality
monitoring system which is being used to analyse harmful pollution in 1,000
toxic hotspots across the city, including near schools, hospitals, construction
sites and busy roads. It will deliver the most comprehensive data on toxic
pollution in the world.
London has also introduced the world’s first toxicity charge for older, more
polluting cars, and expanded their Ultra-Low Emission Zone, which is a traffic
pollution charge aimed at reducing the exhaust gas emissions of diesel-powered
commercial vehicles in London. Only vehicles that do not conform to stringent
emission standards are charged.
This is expected to reduce harmful NOx (Nitrogen Oxides) emissions by about 50
per cent in central London, 40 per cent in inner London and 30 per cent in
outer London.
London City Hall is also investing more than 300 million pounds to transform
London’s bus fleet by retrofitting thousands of buses and committing to phase
out pure diesel double deck buses from 2018. They recently announced 12 Low
Emission Bus Zones which put the greenest buses on the capital’s most polluted
routes.
The zones are expected to reduce NOx emissions by 84 per cent.
New taxis licensed after 1 January 2018 will also need to be zero emission. The
new plans include new ‘zero emission’ ranks alongside a network of rapid
electric charge points.
London and Paris have also both agreed to launch a new vehicle scoring scheme
to help reduce the number of polluting vehicles in their cities. The Cleaner
Vehicle Checker shows Londoners how much toxic NOx new cars emit, helping them
to choose and buy less polluting vehicles.
The City of London has also launched an app called City Air. It includes a
pollution map updated every hour, guides to the lowest pollution routes from
anywhere in the city, and information about bus stops, stations and bike hire
to help people move around the city.
Another focus is on reducing air pollution around schools. Fifty 'air quality'
audits are taking place at primary schools in areas exceeding legal limits of
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and air quality monitoring stations are being installed
in schools as well.
We
visited Sir John Cass Foundation School – a primary school and childcare centre
in the heart of London’s city centre.
The school was approached in 2003 about a program to monitor and ultimately
improve the air quality around the school. We were shown the 24-hour air
quality monitoring station located in the school’s playground as well as the
many ‘diffusion tubes’ located in some classrooms, the gym, and externally
around the school and monitoring station. The air quality monitoring station
they are using is not prohibitively expensive and roughly cost less than 50,000
pounds.
All the data collected is verified by Kings College London, and feeds into a
live ‘map’ of predicted pollution across London.
They were very proud to tell us that for the first time since monitoring began
the annual measure of air pollution around the site had reduced to below the
legal limit.
The main reasons for the reduction is the work that the City of London has
undertaken to improve the public domain around the school – closing a busy
vehicular laneway right next to the school and instead creating two new open
spaces - Mitre Square and Aldgate Square. Footpaths were also widened around
the school site and hundreds of plants and trees planted. Evidence shows that
greening provides more surfaces to trap tiny polluting particles in the air.
It’s clear from what I learnt in London that our State Government, who has
responsibility for air pollution in NSW, is failing to keep up with the
impressive work being undertaken by other cities, especially London, to protect
the health of their communities.
I learned that in London more than 9,000 people die every year because of air
pollution and the cost of air pollution to London’s economy is 3.7 billion
pounds.
The staff I spoke to who were responsible for monitoring London’s air quality
were shocked that our State Government was building the world’s largest private
tolled motorway in the city area and next to people’s homes, schools and
regional parks. It is obvious that this destructive project will dramatically
increase air pollution in Sydney.
I believe our staff should investigate the installation of an air quality
monitoring stations near congested roads in our area as soon as possible so
that we can monitor the data before WestConnex starts
operating, and then compare that to the data we get when it is opened.
Budget
C40 covered most of my travel and accommodation costs and some costs for City
staff. During the Council meeting on 10 December, Council endorsed a budget of
approximately $13,000 per person from funds available within existing
operational budgets.
While final incidental costs are still to be reconciled, the trip will be under
the budget approved by Council and more likely $10,500 per person.
Support for the Student
Climate Strike
On Friday 15 March, at least 500 student protests
are planned across 50 countries around the world to demand climate action. In
Sydney, organisers are expecting over 10,000 students to strike.
Students taking part in the School Climate Strike want to stage a community
event following the strike and we have been asked to support them.
The Climate Election Town Hall event, planned for Wednesday 27 March, will aim
to bring together 1,000 students and adults from across the city so they can
learn the latest strategies for championing climate leadership in their
communities.
The event is being organised by Australian Youth Climate Coalition and Tipping
Point. They are requesting that we support the event by providing the use of
the Centennial Hall.
The School Strike for Climate movement has grown momentum across the globe at a
spectacular pace. Veteran climate campaigners have been astonished by what has
been achieved in such a short time, calling it “one of the most hopeful things
in the last 30 years.”
I strongly support what they are doing and believe we should provide
value-in-kind sponsorship of the event.
Recommendation
It is resolved that Council:
(A) note the information provided in this report;
(B)
ask the CEO to investigate London’s Culture at
Risk initiative; the Creative Enterprise Zones and Creative Land Trust as part
of staff work developing a cultural infrastructure strategy to see if they
would benefit our city’s cultural and creative sector;
(C)
ask the CEO to investigate the
installation of air quality monitoring stations near congested roads as soon as
possible;
(D)
stand in solidarity with all student activists
striking for climate action on Friday 15 March; and
(E)
provide value-in-kind
sponsorship to the Australian Youth Climate Coalition Ltd for the Climate Election
Town Hall event not exceeding $20,000 (ex-GST) for venue hire fee waiver.
COUNCILLOR CLOVER MOORE
Lord Mayor
Moved by the Chair (the Lord Mayor), seconded by Councillor Miller –
That the minute by the Lord Mayor be endorsed and adopted.
The minute was carried on the following show of hands –
Ayes (8) The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Kok, Miller, Phelps,
Scott, Scully, Thalis and Vithoulkas
Noes (2) Councillors
Chung and Forster
Minute carried.
S051491
Procedural Motions
During discussion on this matter, the following procedural motion was moved by Councillor Forster, seconded by Councillor Chung –
That the motion be voted on in five separate sections – (A) to (E) separately.
The procedural motion was declared lost on the following show of hands -
Ayes (4) Councillors Chung, Forster, Scott, and Vithoulkas
Noes (6) The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Kok, Miller, Phelps, Scully, and Thalis
A further procedural motion was moved by Councillor Forster, seconded by Councillor Chung –
That the motion be voted on in two sections, firstly parts (A) to (C) then parts (D) and (E).
A show of hands on the motion resulted in an equality of voting as follows:
Ayes (5) Councillors Chung, Forster, Phelps, Scott, and Vithoulkas
Noes (5) The Chair (the Lord Mayor), Councillors Kok, Miller, Scully, and Thalis
The Lord Mayor exercised her casting vote against the motion. The motion was declared lost.