(ATR) Los Angeles and Paris each claim leadership in the fight against climate change through the bid books for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympics.
Paris remains a global figurehead with as the place where the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change was signed by 195 countries.
On June 1, President Donald Trump told the world the U.S. would begin exiting the Paris Agreement.
The U.S. was expected to contribute approximately $3 billion to the reduction efforts of other countries, one of the factors that led President Trump to begin seeking a new deal for the U.S. Trump says the agreement would cost U.S. jobs.
"We are getting out," President Trump said Thursday. "But we will start to negotiate, and we will see if we can make a deal that’s fair. And if we can, that’s great."
President Emmanuel Macron of France issued a rebuke to President Trump: "Make our planet great again."
Both men, of course, are heads of state for the two countries with bids for the 2024 Games.
While the Trump rejection of the Paris Accord might affect international support for the Los Angeles bid, Mayor Eric Garcetti says he stands with mayors of other major U.S. cities. such as Atlanta, New York and Boston, in endorsing the Paris Accord.
Regardless, the LA 2024 bid expects to reduce its carbon footprint on its own accord.
"In preparing for a better future, the City has created a rigorous climate change management program reflected in three separate plans: the Sustainable City pLAn, the Resilience by Design Plan and the latest Climate Action Report," LA 2024 states in part one of the bid book.
The Los Angeles bid never directly mentions the Paris Agreement by name but refers to the conference where it was signed.
Paris 2024 says it is the leader when it comes to environmental protection. The bid heavily promotes the country’s role in the Paris Agreement in several sections of the dossier.
"France is proud to take the lead on matters of such crucial importance, as was witnessed at the 2015 global COP21 summit on climate change," Paris 2024 states in part one of its bid.
The COP21 summit was held at the proposed site of the Main Press and International Broadcast Centers in Paris 2024’s bid. Media were taken on a short tour of the Le Bourget Paris complex that hosted the world leaders for the climate summit.
"The success of the recent COP21 and the negotiations resulting in a historic climate agreement demonstrate France’s leading role in the global fight against climate change."
Los Angeles and Paris are still neck-and-neck in the race to host the 2024 Olympics, although within the next week the IOC may formally propose an unprecedented rules change to select both 2024 and 2028 host cities at the same time. That vote will be held on Sep. 13 in Lima, Peru.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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