Rawlings-Blake to head delegation to Paris
BREW EXCLUSIVE: In the name of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Rawlings-Blake will participate at the big U.N. climate convention
Above: Mayor Rawlings-Blake attending a taxpayers night in Baltimore.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will be off to Paris late next week, leading a delegation of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, of which she is president, to participate in the United Nations convention on climate change.
According to information released this afternoon in the Board of Estimates agenda, the mayor will be in Paris from December 4 to 6 to participate in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 21st Conference of Parties.
“She will ensure recognition of the work of U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Center and Mayors Climate Agreement and lend American support to the global agreement,” according to the agenda item.
She is also expected to participate in a climate summit for local leaders and a “Day of Action” at Le Bourget, a Paris suburb where the U.N. conference will be held.
No Cost to City
The airfare and hotel accommodations for Rawlings-Blake and Deputy Mayor Andrew Smullian will be paid for by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
“The city will not incur any cost for this travel,” the agenda states.
The objective of the U.N. conference is to achieve a binding and universal agreement on climate change. Negotiations setting up a framework for such an agreement have been in the works for 20 years, but a meaningful pledge by nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is expected to be difficult to achieve.
Security at the conference will be extra tight in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks that killed 130 people earlier this month.