Mayors of major world cities gathered in Tokyo on Wednesday asked Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to lead debate on pressing global issues such as climate change at the Group of 20 summit next month in Osaka.
The local government leaders from the "Urban 20," or U20, group released a joint statement at the end of their meeting, setting various goals such as a commitment toward "decarbonization by 2050 at the latest."
"We are aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions to effectively zero by 2050 and cut plastic waste," Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said when she handed the communique to Abe at his office along with other participants of the two-day meeting, including the mayors of Berlin, Helsinki and Rome.