The Urban 20 (U20) Mayors Summit called on G20 member states to ensure that world governments invest directly in cities as the engines of recovery, given that more than 68 percent of the world’s population is set to live in cities by 2050.

The statement was made during the summit's third round in Riyadh, which concluded on Saturday with 27 recommendations endorsed by 39 city leaders across the world. The recommendations will be handed over to the G20 Summit officially in its meeting scheduled for 21 and 22 November.

As cities seek to recover from the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in a sustainable, inclusive way, the U20 recommendations are expected to play a central role in this regard, according to the summit’s final communiqué.

The summit’s final communiqué also includes a call for the G20 to commit and respond immediately to the climate emergency by substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions to deliver the 50 percent global reduction required by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality no later than 2050.

The U20 also called on heads of state to work together to expand investment in the green economy as a way to recover from the COVID-19 crisis The U20 suggested designing green stimulus funding, corporate support, and other recovery funds to support the development of climate-resilient and inclusive societies, in addition to ensuring that this funding reaches the territorial levels and is reflected in lending by international financial institutions.

Moreover, U20 cities asked national leaders to cooperate with them to guarantee access to vaccines for COVID-19 without discrimination of any kind.

Additionally, U20 cities called on the G20 leaders to strengthen the role and active participation of cities in the local implementation of international biodiversity and climate and sustainability goals, including investing in nature-based solutions and including cities in the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).

The recommendations also included a call for the G20 to help countries to foster the circular economy and the implementation of the 4Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover).

U20 started in 2018 under the leadership of the mayors of Buenos Aires and Paris, and was convened by the Cities Climate Leadership Group in collaboration with United Cities and Local Governments.

U20 seeks to develop a joint position and collective messages to inform and enrich the discussions of national leaders at the G20 summit through unique urban perspectives.