Sustainable Chicago: Competitive, Livable, and Leading on Climate As Mayor Rahm Emanuel reaches his second anniversary leading the City of Chicago, our “city in a garden” reflects on dramatic progress and continuing efforts to make Chicago one of the most competitive, livable, and environmentally sustainable places on the planet. In two short years, Chicago has…
I’m thrilled to take on the role of C40 North America Regional Director. Having worked for two mayors in San Francisco, one of C40’s Innovator Cities, and on distributed clean energy systems internationally for a number of years before that, I’m a firm believer in driving global sustainability through local action. It’s often said that…
C40 city Madrid is introducing electric car-sharing services through a new agreement between NH Hoteles, a top hotel chain and leader in sustainable tourism, and Respiro Car Sharing. The two companies plan to implement an EV car-sharing service in 10 hotels operated by NH in Madrid. The agreement will expand an existing car-sharing service operated…
Editor’s Note: Fresh off his participation in the Clinton Global Initiative’s Mid-Year Meeting, where C40 Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced a C40 Risk Assessment Framework, Mayor Paes discusses Rio’s recent efforts to bring sustainable transport to his city’s streets. Latin America is flourishing. Rising urbanization, expanding population, and trade growth are all…
Dana Robbins Schneider - the author of this post - leads Jones Lang LaSalle’s (JLL) Energy and Sustainability Services division in a region anchored by New York City, Boston and Washington DC. There are more than 900,000 buildings in New York City alone. These structures, both historic and contemporary, literally define a city like New York. Landmarks like…
C40 and Clinton Global Initiative commitment to further city driven climate actions
Posted by C40 News Team on May 6, 2013 C40 announced today a new Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action that will provide cities with the tools they need to prioritize climate adaptation measures and build more sustainable futures for their residents. The new C40 Risk Assessment Framework will enable cities to assess local climate risks with confidence, and then prioritize, invest in and execute…
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” is one of the key organizing themes emphasized and often stated by C40 Chair, Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg. So we were interested to read about a team of innovative Microsoft engineers that has developed a promising new software that improves building management systems…
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) today unveiled a new report on the use of low carbon bus technologies in Latin American cities, the findings of which could help shape the next generation of sustainable urban transport in the region and beyond. C40 Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the results of…
C40 Chair and Mayor of New York Michael R. Bloombergannounced this morning that ten private companies have joined the Carbon Challenge, a PlaNYC initiative that encourages businesses, universities, hospitals, and other private organizations to slash carbon emissions to reduce the impact of climate change. “I want to applaud the commitment of the 10 companies making the Carbon Challenge pledge,…
London’s population will increase by another 700,000 people by 2020 to more than nine million and electricity demand is still rising between 1-4 percent a year. We must invest in the capital’s infrastructure to deliver more secure, cheaper and greener energy. The Mayor knows that securing London’s energy future is as vital as the current…
The City of Sydney has announced plans for a revitalized city center, starting with a project that will remove cars from congested main thoroughfare and transform the area into a spacious plaza, complete with trees and pedestrians. But that won’t mean commuters will have to pick an alternate route – the plaza is part of a larger…
This week marks the kickoff of the second annual National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, to be launched in C40 member cityWashington DC by Mayor Vincent Gray. The competition, sponsored by the Wyland Foundation and Toyota, will run throughout the month of April and will feature mayors across the country encouraging their residents to conserve the precious natural resource.…
Ten cities from the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) gathered in Houston to discuss the challenges and opportunities of reducing emissions from each of their city’s private sector building stock during the first meeting of C40’s “Private Sector Building Energy Efficiency Network.” The workshop, held on March 5-7, took place in conjunction with an Urban…
Mayor of C40 city Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa announcedWednesday the city’s plan — approved Tuesday by the Board of Water and Power Commissioners — to be coal-free by the year 2025. Los Angeles currently meets 39% of its energy demand from two coal plants, one in Utah and another in Arizona. According to the new plan,…
Major cities from around the world gathered in the C40 city of Vancouver to develop plans of action to significantly reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SCLP) from waste management, in conjunction with the Global Methane Expo on March 11-12. “Mitigating short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP) from the municipal solid waste sector” is an initiative of the Climate and Clean…
This week, Bloomberg Philanthropies announced the winners of the Mayors Challenge, a contest launched last June to award $9 million to five US cities that come up with innovative ideas for solving major problems and improving quality of life. Out of a pool of more than 300 competitors, three C40 cities — Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia — took home…
C40 Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced today that the City of Johannesburg will host the fifth biennial C40 Mayors Summit, an event which gathers mayors from the world’s largest cities for three days to advance urban solutions to the climate crisis, on February 4-6, 2014. Mayor Bloomberg and Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Parks Tau met…
EXPERT VOICES: This guest post was written by Zach Tofias, Director of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group’s Sustainable Communities Initiative and the Climate Positive Development Programme Readers of this blog understand the importance of climate change and the reason to focus on cities. Today more than half the world’s population lives in cities. By 2050 that…
Sam Brooks is the Associate Director of the DC Department of General Services (DGS) and head of its Energy Division After an 18-month intensive public engagement process,Washington, DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray released the ‘Sustainable DC Plan‘ last week. From creating new jobs to improving transportation options to reducing building energy use, the plan sets forth a bold…
Mayor Bloomberg talks electric vehicles, tackles food waste in his final “State of the City” address
In his 12th and final State of the City address, C40 Chair and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg continued to steer the city towards a more sustainable future, introducing plans to ban Styrofoam food packaging, increase the use of electric vehicles, and create more green space. The Chair laid out plans to expand recycling initiatives,…
London Mayor Boris Johnson has set his sights on creating the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone, a measure which he says could be “a game changing moment in the quality of life in our great capital.” The mayor’s plan would allow only vehicles carrying a zero or low emission label to enter central London…
On January 21, 2013, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced the results from the second year of its cap-and-trade program. Reports submitted from 934 facilities to the end of November 2012 show a further 10% emission reduction from reporting facilities below the year-one (2010) figures, bringing the second year total to an overall 23% emission reduction below the base-year…
At Transforming Transportation 2013, a recent World Resources Institute (WRI) event , C40 City Chair and Mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg discussed the role of mayors and cities in contrast to federal governments and international bodies: “When you are tackling the environment or crime or education or transportation, that’s basically done at the local city…
By Holger Dalkmann City leaders face incredible pressure to deliver sustainable transportation. Cities now account for more than half of the world’s population—by 2050, they will hold 75 percent of us. These people – increasingly from the middle class – will need ways to commute to work, travel, and carry out their livelihoods. At the same time, 1.27…
The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) announcedC40 city Mexico City as the winner of the 2013 Sustainable Transport Award. Together with a committee of international transportation and development experts, the Institute recognized the city’s achievements in its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, parking program, cycling and walking infrastructure, and improvements to public spaces. Mexico…
