The Mayor of the City of Paris, France
Anne Hidalgo
During the COP21, Anne Hidalgo came to a defining moment in her career as a politician, as the conference shaped her future political agenda and policies. The conference occurred during her first year of her mayoral term, and while heads of state negotiated and discussed solutions for climate action, local leaders played an equally important role. Anne Hidalgo played a crucial role in shifting the focus of climate action from international and national leaders to local leadership.
The COP21 was held in 2015 in Paris, and it is where the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, was forged and agreed on by all participating countries. The COP21 set a threshold of 1.5-2°C for temperature increase and provided guidelines for achieving this. While the spotlight was on the international community during COP21, local leaders also played an important role in climate action. Anne Hidalgo did not want Paris to be solely the host city for the conference but rather an example and leader in climate action. Anne Hidalgo, alongside Michael Bloomberg, co-organized the Climate Summit for Local Leaders, where she convened over 1000 mayors to discuss climate action. This summit was not simply a side event of the COP21, but rather positioned her on the international stage as a climate leader.
In an article co-authored by Anne Hidalgo and Michael Bloomberg, which predates the COP21, they explain why they see cities as agents of change. Cities are key actors in global warming as they produce over 70% of the global emissions, thus they should be at the center of the plan to fight back against climate change and to achieve the goals set by the Paris Agreement of reducing emissions. Cities are the first to be affected by disasters, such as droughts, floods, rising temperatures. To protect their citizens, cities must take concrete steps to reduce emissions and be more resilient to the effects of global warming, and protect their citizens and biodiversity. To fight climate change effectively, nations must set more ambitious targets and create realistic plans to achieve these targets; hence, cities play a major role in executing policies to achieve these results.
The COP 21 was a defining moment because it allowed Anne Hidalgo to shift from writing about the potential of a strong local leadership to actually convening mayors and working together on climate change. She materialised the principles which she outlined in her article by implementing policies that complied with the demands of the Paris Agreement. The summit convened over a 1000 mayors, allowing Anne Hidalgo to gain visibility and network with other mayors and also create a space to share ideas and start potential collaborations. For Anne Hidalgo, the “Climate Summit in Paris [was] an opportunity for local leaders to strengthen their commitments, share experiences, and learn from each other.” During the summit, Anne Hidalgo proved her position as an international actor by advocating for more action from local governments. She advocates a decentralized approach to climate governance by empowering local leaders to take action.
Anne Hidalgo’s political approach and agenda took a turn after COP21. At the start of her political career in the socialist party, Hidalgo took a more “masculinized” approach and attempted to follow along the lines of her predecessor by framing environmental protection as a traditional issue by focusing on pollution and emissions and specifically targeting these in her environmental policies. She linked climate action to Paris’s competitiveness and innovation instead of focusing on the dangers of climate change.
After COP21, Anne Hidalgo expanded her political frame by associating climate policies with urban planning, transportation modes, and social justice. The Summit altered her agenda, rendering her policies more “feminised”. By shifting the focus from the developmental aspect of climate change to the actual impact on the people, she develops an approach centered around the well-being of the Parisians rather than economic growth. In her post-COP21 agenda, she opted for policies that involved more plans of ecological solidarity, health, sustainable foods (Meeks, 2023), but also social cohesion. To foster greater solidarity and participation among Parisians, Anne Hidalgo implemented a form of participatory budgeting, allowing residents to decide how the city’s funds are allocated. Through this policy, Anne Hidalgo increased the involvement of her citizens, emphasizing their moral responsibility and raising awareness about issues such as environmental concerns. Moreover, after the summit, Anne Hidalgo also changed her rhetoric after COP21 when addressing climate issues from “I” to “We”, showing more collective action, responsibility, and citizen participation.
Post COP21, the Mayor of Paris started a major urban planning project to restructure Paris into a more sustainable and greener city, reflecting the summit’s influence. Between 2015 and 2020, she added over 1000 km of bike lanes and instated the “Plan Vélo” making Paris a cyclable city. Hidalgo implemented more pedestrian zones including the right banks of the Seine to reduce, and she launched the Paris Respire Program, closing streets to traffic during holidays or weekends to reduce the emissions of vehicles. She also increased the number of green areas, such as “oasis” and microforests, aimed at reducing heat in the streets of Paris to protect its citizens.
In January 2016, Anne Hidalgo launched a “Plan Climat Energie Territorial” (PCET) for Paris, an initiative aimed at implementing the Paris Agreement locally to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 discussed during COP21. The PCET is a tool that focuses on a strategic and planning approach involving economic, social, and environmental actors to reduce emissions. This plan was set to be a long-term project and to be reviewed every 6 years, and it addresses all of the key objectives set by the Paris Agreement, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, making Paris more resilient to high temperatures, improving air quality, and promoting the energy transition. These policies show the dedication of the city of Paris to align with the Paris Agreement from COP21.
Moreover, the Climate Summit resulted in the Paris City Hall Declaration, an agreement that reaffirms the commitment of local leaders to uphold the Paris Agreement. The declaration recognizes that if we continue on this “trajectory, it will result in disaster for our children, the environment, and global biodiversity”. Although this declaration is not legally binding, it establishes guidelines for cities on how to address climate action through the implementation of effective policies. The declaration outlines the increase the participatory action plans by 2020; meet a per annum reduction of 3.7 gigatons of urban greenhouse gas emissions by 2030; support and reach long-term climate goals (100% renewables or 80% GHG reductions) by 2050; and Cement inter-city, government, and global organization collaboration to ensure the financing, support, scale-up, and building of programs and climate solutions across the globe.
Anne Hidalgo’s leadership during the summit led to her recognition as a leader, which was then reflected in her appointment as Chair of the C40, a network of “nearly 100 mayors of the world’s leading cities that are united in action to confront the climate crisis”. In this committee, mayors and leaders take a science-based and collaborative approach to meet the global warming limits set by the Paris Agreement. While she was Chair of the C40, she successfully gained funding and investment for more sustainable infrastructure through her work at the C40 Financial Facility, which prepares cities to develop profitable projects.
By hosting this summit, Anne Hidalgo ensured that the voices of cities are heard during the COP21 and showcased the efforts that local leaders take to slow climate change. She advocates a decentralized approach to climate governance by empowering local leaders to take action. For Anne Hidalgo, the “Climate Summit for Local Leaders” in Paris was an opportunity for local leaders to strengthen their commitments, share experiences, and learn from each other. We want to deliver optimal instruments to reduce the carbon footprint in urban areas, and allow, to the benefit of all, a healthier, more sustainable, and more prosperous way of living.”, reflecting her understanding of the interdependent relationship between sustainable urban planning and the well-being of her citizens.
IExRAIA Summer Research Program:
This article is an excerpt from a report on Claudia Sheinbaum produced as part of an RAIA research program on climate leaders. For a full picture of Ruto’s climate leadership, including the sources, read the full report. This project was fully financed by IE University’s IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs.
Author: Alice Girotto & Bryan Thorne
Editor: Roxane de Bergevin
Project Leads: Roxane de Bergevin & Stefani Obradovic
