CAPE TOWN, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Cape Town mayor Alderman Dan Plato on Thursday said cities need to join the global trend to minimize carbon emissions and Cape Town is on its way to do so, when talking about his expectations on the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in China.

Devastating fires in countries like Greece, Italy, U.S. and Australia have shown how the climate is changing worldwide, and some countries and cities in the world, including Cape Town, have set the tone for their plan on reducing carbon footprint and implemented initiatives to achieve this, Plato told Xinhua in an interview shortly before the launch event of Cape Town's new Climate Change Action Plan.

The plan has 10 focus areas on topics from coastal resilience and zero-emissions buildings to inclusive planning. It also sets out how the city will support the implementation of the plan through cross-cutting work areas such as the green economy.

Located in the Cape Floristic Region, Cape Town has 19 veld types, including six types that are only found in the city. Among them, 10 veld types are critically endangered, equivalent to 53 percent of all the critically endangered veld types in the country.

The mayor said South Africa needs to make sure that it begins to implement clear strategies about the carbon footprint and the environment in the world, and that there are clear guidance and warnings by scientists, environmentalists and experts about the next step South Africa need to take.

"We must follow the world trend. We need to make sure that we are part of the massive global initiative to fight carbon emissions and to be in line with the climate-changing world," he said.

Cape Town has several sister cities in China. Plato said they are Cape Town's capable partners in the biodiversity cooperation and can have meaningful discussion and engagement on the climate change and lessons about it. Enditem

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