Mayors of the world’s cities are meeting at the Vatican on Tuesday and Wednesday to tackle climate change and human trafficking, in advance of the United Nations Climate Change Summit in Paris later in the year.

The mayors are discussing how cities can help solve these problems in a workshop on Tuesday on “Modern Slavery and Climate Change: the Commitment of the Cities” and a symposium on Wednesday on “Prosperity, People, and Planet: Achieving Sustainable Development in Our Cities”.

The conference, called by Pope Francis, is hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. 

Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, chancellor of the academy said: “We intend for the mayors to commit to promoting the empowerment of the poor and of those who live in vulnerable conditions in our cities and in our urban settlements, reducing their exposure to extreme weather events caused by radical environmental, economic and social instabilities, which create fertile ground for forced migration and human trafficking.”

Mayors attending the conference come from cities in all continents, including many Olympic bidding and hosting cities. 

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh said: "I am honoured to have the opportunity to represent the City of Boston at the Vatican to discuss the vital issues of human trafficking and protecting our environment. I look forward to joining my peers from around the world to collaborate on how we can prepare our cities for the future." 

Kingston Mayor, Angela Brown Burke said: “Here in Jamaica we are constantly reminded of our contribution to and the effects of human-induced climate change as we experience hotter days and nights, less rainfall and longer periods of drought.

Oslo Mayor Stian Berger Røsland said: "When we say humans must, and can, reduce our climate gas emissions, people do not envision a good public transport system or responsible building legislation. But when cities emit 70% of the world’s CO2, clearly, we do have game-changing tools."

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said: "Modern slavery and climate disruption are two major and intertwined issues for our capital cities.  We shall face these challenges collectively, engaging the political and spiritual forces of our local communities.”

Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said: "C40 cities have the potential to reduce their annual cumulative greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion tons by 2020, which shows that together and coordinated, leaders have the power to protect the cities, our common home.”

Rome Mayor Ignazio R. Marino said: "Rome is committed to create a permanent network between cities wishing to engage in the fight against climate change thanks to good energy saving practices.” 

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said: “Pope Francis' leadership will build on the resounding unity of big cities worldwide in calling for meaningful and binding emissions targets, and for a climate agreement signed in Paris that respects the needs of our cities, our planet and the generations to come.”

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP21, will be held in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015.

Dame Tessa Jowell MP, former Secretary of State for the Olympic Games has proposed that a one per cent tax on hotel stays should be brought in to fund events, culture and youth development in London.

The tax could raise GB£50m per year, London newspaper the Evening Standard reported. 

These funds would be used to stage events such as the New Year’s Eve Fireworks, as well as creating a culture fund for local boroughs, enabling town halls to apply for funds to host free community events. 

The revenues would also be diverted to helping create equal access to cultural and leisure activities for children in London. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, the families of 200,000 London children can’t afford leisure equipment such as bicycles, while 100,000 can’t afford extra-curricular activities such as music lessons.

Other major world cities such as Paris and Rome already tax tourists on their hotel stays. In New York City, non-residents are charged more than 14 per cent on their hotel bills to contribute to city’s finances. 

The tax could only be introduced in London if the government grants new powers to the Mayor and London’s boroughs.

Dame Tessa Jowell is the pollster’s favourite to be Labour’s candidate for the Mayor of London. The Mayor will be elected in May 2017. 

The former Secretary of State responsible for all planning of Olympic bid and implementation was a member of the London Olympic Board from 2010 to 2012. During the Games, she was Deputy Mayor of the Olympic Village

She is speaking in the opening panel discussion on “Why Events Matter to Cities" at HOST CITY 2015: The Largest Meeting of Cities and Sports, Culture and Business Events on 27 and 28 October.

Labour MP Sadiq Khan is set to be the new Mayor of London as counting nears completion following Thursday’s election. Khan stood against four rival candidates including the Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith. 

He is set to succeed Conservative MP Boris Johnson, who led London for two terms which included the delivery of the Olympic Games in 2012. The Host City contract for London 2012 was signed by former Mayor Ken Livingstone.

Shortly before the election Khan outlined his priorities in an editorial in The Guardian newspaper. Affordable housing was top of the agenda, but he also set out his plans to assure that transport affordable. 

“Londoners now face the most expensive transport of almost any major city,” he wrote. “I will freeze fares for four years, and introduce ‘Hopper’ bus tickets, so that people can have unlimited changes within one hour.”

With Khan as Mayor, London can hope to see an improvement in air quality. 

“As someone who lives with adult-onset asthma I know how bad air quality in the capital has become,” he wrote. 

“I want to be the greenest mayor London has ever had – it is not acceptable that 10,000 people die in London every year because our air is so filthy. That’s why I have ambitious plans to make green London’s bus fleet and remove the filthiest vehicles from our roads.

He also pledged to improve security in the capital of the UK.“While the cost of living in London has soared, the number of police officers making our city safe has plummeted. Conservative cuts mean there are 1,500 fewer officers on London’s streets, and violent crime levels are up in every single borough. I will make policing a priority, and work to tackle sexual assaults on public transport and the unacceptable rise in hate crime.”

But the clearest message of Khan’s campaign was on tackling the runaway cost of accommodation. “Our city is living through the worst housing crisis in a generation, rents are sky-high and the average cost of a home in London is more than £500,000,” he wrote. 

“If I become mayor of London, my single biggest priority will be to build thousands more homes every year. I will set a target to make half of all the new homes that are built genuinely affordable, with first dibs for Londoners.”

Khan, who is set to be the first Muslim mayor of a major western city, was nominated Labour’s candidate for the mayoral contest ahead of former Olympics Minister Dame Tessa Jowell. 

Host City would like to thank Dame Tessa Jowell and former Mayors Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone for all their contributions to and invaluable support of Host City; and to welcome Sadiq Khan's plans for London.