WHAT WAS CLAIMED
The cities of Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne have signed a pledge compelling them to ban meat and private cars.
OUR VERDICT
False. A 2019 report that sets out “ambitious targets” to reduce global emissions does not oblige the cities to meet them.
AAP FACTCHECK – Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland are among almost 100 cities around the world that have pledged – and are now compelled – to ban meat, dairy and private car ownership by 2030, according to claims on social media.
This is false. A 2019 report by a network called C40 Cities lists "ambitious targets" that could reduce consumption, and therefore emissions, by 2030, but no member cities are obliged to meet the targets.
Claims are circulating on social media, including one Facebook post that reads: "14 American cities have signed a World Economic Forum pledge that compels them to ban meat, dairy and private car ownership (among other things) by the year 2030. These cities are part of a rapidly expanding coalition called the 'C40 Climate Leadership Group'."
A screenshot shared in the post says the C40 Cities have agreed their residents will be "forced to comply" with a list of "unconstitutional rules".
According to its website, C40 Cities is a "global network of nearly 100 mayors of the world's leading cities … united in action to confront the climate crisis".
Those cities include Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney, and the respective mayors Wayne Brown, Nicholas Reece and Clover Moore.
In 2019, C40 Cities released a report titled "The Future of Urban Consumption in a 1.5C World".
Published in collaboration with global collective Arup and the University of Leeds, it's described as an analysis, not a plan, and sets out "ambitious targets" that it says are based on a future vision of resource-efficient production and extensive changes in consumer choices (page 68).