HONG KONG -- New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, new chairman of the C40 Climate Leadership Group, has told an international conference, titled Climate Dialogue: Low Carbon Cities for High Quality Living, that the world must confront global-climate disruptions on four core fronts.

At a just-finished four-day conference in Hong Kong, Bloomberg, who succeeds Toronto mayor David Miller at the C40 helm, said that all cities stand ready to face the challenges and “the time for empty talk has ended”.

Based on the C40 agenda, Bloomberg described the four core approaches as:
-- to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions with initiatives to promote buildings' energy efficiency;
-- to increase co-operation among cities;
-- to make the C40 an influential global authority to push for changes; and
-- to set high, but achievable, goals.

Bloomberg called on cities to accelerate their efforts. New York has achieved some results by expanding the legal framework governing buildings' designs and operations to include the impact of climate change.

Hong Kong chief secretary Henry Tang called the conference, attended by more than 300 officials, representatives and experts from dozens of cities, “a great meeting of minds”.

Copenhagen mayor Frank Jensen said his city has reduced emissions due to a district heating system being connected to 95 per cent of households. Portland mayor Tom Miller claimed to recognize a relationship between protecting the environment and the economy. Los Angeles deputy-mayor Romel Pascual said that his city's spread-out geography and car dependence hamper green-transport policy. Fifty per cent of L.A.'s emissions come from vehicles.

In contrast, Hong Kong has 42,000 buildings responsible for 60 per cent of emissions. Its Urban Renewal Authority aims to refit 16,000 “old” buildings to increase their energy efficiency.

No matter how high-profile any conference, everything that happens there is talk, talk and more talk. If the time for action has arrived, then let political leaders gab much less and act much more.

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