You are on page 1of 6

EMBARGOED UNTIL 1 DEC.

2016 7:30 PM CT // 8:30 PM EDT //


1:30 AM (DEC. 2) GMT // 10:30 AM (DEC. 2) JST
1 DECEMBER 2016
CONTACT: ​MEDIA@C40.ORG

C40 AWARDS THE 11 BEST CITIES OF 2016 FOR ADDRESSING


CLIMATE CHANGE
Mexico City, Mexico (1 December 2016) – Eleven cities were honoured today at an
awards ceremony in Mexico City. The ​C40 Cities Awards recognize the world’s most
inspiring and innovative cities tackling climate change. Sponsored by Bloomberg
Philanthropies and BYD, the C40 Cities Awards ceremony was held during the ​C40
Mayors Summit​, where more than 40 mayors from around the world gathered to
create sustainable and liveable cities for citizens.

“On behalf of C40, I want to congratulate all the winning cities for their
commitment to their citizens and their dedication to tackling climate change,” said
outgoing C40 Chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes. “Throughout my
tenure as C40 Chair, I have been increasingly impressed by the calibre of the C40
Cities Award winners, and I look forward to seeing other mayors around the world
adapting and implementing these models in their own cities.”

“The C40 Cities Awards recognize the best and boldest work being done by mayors
to fight climate change and protect people from risks,” said C40 President of the
Board and U.N. Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change
Michael R. Bloomberg. “The winning projects show that great progress is being
made on every continent, and they serve as an inspiration to other cities. They also
show how cities can help the world meet the ambitious goals set a year ago in
Paris.”

An expert jury panel comprised of former mayors, climate experts and others,
selected ten winning urban sustainability projects based on excellence in urban
planning and dedication to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving
resiliency. The selected cities exemplified the best policies, projects and
programmes globally, and for the first time included a category recognizing social
equity.

1
LONDON​ C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
North West Entrance, City-Gate House, 39-45 Finsbury Square, Level 7, London EC2A 1PX, United Kingdom
“Today, we celebrate some of the projects that are key to delivering on the
world’s climate ambition and will help put us on a path to a carbon-safe future,”
said Chuanfu Wang, Chairman and President of BYD Co. Ltd. “We recognise
the incredible human power and thoughtful consideration that goes into making
these projects reality. BYD is extremely proud to support the Awards and help to
accelerate the implementation of these truly innovative programs.”

C40 has partnered with Associated Press Images to capture compelling images
from each of the winning city projects. These can be downloaded by clicking ​here​,
and are free to use. Winning city projects are:

Addis Ababa​ (Transportation): The Addis Ababa


Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project has improved the
city’s public transport system and created more
than 6,000 jobs. The cumulative emission
reduction potential of the LRT system is forecasted
at 1.8 million tCO2e by 2030.

Copenhagen​ ​(Adaptation in Action): Copenhagen


is threatened by sea level rise and heavy
downpours. The Cloudburst Management Plan –
Project Implementation is an integrated system of
green streets and pocket parks that will function as
water retention areas and water basins.

Curitiba​ (Sustainable Communities): Urban


Agriculture in Curitiba aims to reduce greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions through urban agriculture:
directly through carbon sequestration in soil,
biological nitrogen fixation by legumes and
non-use of chemical nitrogen fertilisers; and
indirectly by reducing food and waste transport
distances, composting organic waste, reduction of
"heat islands" and creating environmental
awareness.

2
LONDON​ C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
North West Entrance, City-Gate House, 39-45 Finsbury Square, Level 7, London EC2A 1PX, United Kingdom
Kolkata​ (Solid Waste): Kolkata’s climate change
risks have been exacerbated by unsanitary disposal
and waste dumping. Kolkata Solid Waste
Management Improvement Project has achieved
60-80% (depending on site) segregation of waste
at its source, with further waste segregation
occurring at transfer stations. Forward looking, the
project aims to eradicate open dumping and
burning of waste and to limit the concentration of
methane gas generated in landfill sites.

Sydney​ & ​Melbourne​ ​(Building Energy Efficiency):


The CitySwitch Green Office programme aims to
overcome the knowledge and resource gap
between building owners and tenants by
prioritising the reporting of fully auditable
achievements, and encourages members to adopt
an energy target of between 4-Star and 6-Star on
the National Australian Built Environment Rating
System (NABERS).
The programme has an overall target avoidance of
50,000 tonnes of new CO2e per year by its
signatory businesses.

Paris​ (Adaptation Plans & Assessments): The Paris


Adaption Strategy is aimed at tackling climate
change-related challenges including heatwaves,
urban heat island effect, flooding and droughts.
The programme addresses other sustainability
issues like air pollution and health related risks,
climate refugee challenges and water
scarcity. Some actions being implemented by
2020, include: a greening programme to decrease
heat-related risks; help for Parisians when it’s hot;
and a less vulnerable food supply.

3
LONDON​ C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
North West Entrance, City-Gate House, 39-45 Finsbury Square, Level 7, London EC2A 1PX, United Kingdom
Portland​ (Climate Action Plans & Inventories): The
overarching goal of Portland's 2015 Climate Action
Plan (CAP) is to deliver an integrated set of
strategies by 2020 to keep Portland on a path to
reduce GHG emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by
2050. The proportion of citizens travelling
primarily by public transport, cycling or walking is
expected to rise to 50%, and the number of
electric vehicles is set to increase four-fold to
8,000. The CAP aims to reduce energy use in
existing buildings by 1.7% annually, resulting in an
annual GHG emissions reduction of 280,000 metric
tonnes in 2020.

Seoul​ (Social Equity & Climate Change): The Energy


Welfare Public Private Partnership (PPP)
Programme aims to contribute to the city’s targets
on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction
while simultaneously reducing energy
consumption and spending for low-income
families. In 2015, Seoul financed energy retrofits
for 1,295 households and aims to finance a further
1,050 households in 2016.

Shenzhen​ (Finance & Economic Development):


Shenzhen is one of the fastest growing cities in the
world with a population of 15 million and an
annual GDP growth rate of 10%. Implementing an
Emissions Trading System (ETS) scheme carried
many challenges, but Shenzhen has recruited 636
enterprises to partake in its ETS scheme. Green
low carbon development of the city is now
possible thanks to uncoupling GDP potential from
GHG emissions.

Yokohama​ (Clean Energy): Yokohama Smart City


Project (YSCP) strives to more effectively manage
energy use and mitigate climate change through
energy management systems. The city’s action
plan sets the target of an 80% CO2 emissions
reduction by 2050. The project is designed to
engage citizens and stakeholders as a key factor of
successful implementation.

4
LONDON​ C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
North West Entrance, City-Gate House, 39-45 Finsbury Square, Level 7, London EC2A 1PX, United Kingdom
Earlier in the day during the C40 Mayors Summit, C40 unveiled a report, ​Deadline
2020: How cities will get the job done, outlining a vision to reduce emissions by
2020 and help meet the Paris Agreement targets.

For more information on the Awards and the winning projects, visit:
http://www.c40.org/awards​. You can download images from the winning cities
here​.

For the most up-to-date details about the 2016 C40 Mayors Summit, please refer
to the website: ​http://www.mayorssummit2016.c40.org/​.

Follow the C40 Cities Awards on social media with #C40Awards and the C40
Mayors Summit with the hashtag #Cities4Climate.

- ENDS -

Notes​:

About the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group


The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, now in its 11th year, connects more than
85 of the world’s greatest cities, representing 650+ million people and one quarter
of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on tackling climate
change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and
climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of
urban citizens. The current chair of the C40 is Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes;
Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo is Chair-elect; and three-term Mayor of New York City
Michael R. Bloomberg serves as President of the Board.​ ​C40’s work is made
possible by our three strategic funders: Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s
Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and Realdania. To learn more about the work
of C40 and our cities, please visit ​www.c40.org​, follow us on Twitter ​@c40cities or
Instagram ​@c40cities and like us on Facebook
at ​http://www.facebook.com/C40Cities​.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies


Bloomberg Philanthropies works in over 120 countries around the world to ensure
better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on
five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment,
Government Innovation and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses
all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s charitable activities, including his foundation and his
personal giving. In 2015, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed over half a billion

5
LONDON​ C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
North West Entrance, City-Gate House, 39-45 Finsbury Square, Level 7, London EC2A 1PX, United Kingdom
dollars. For more information, please visit ​bloomberg.org​ or follow us on
Facebook​, ​Instagram​, ​Snapchat​, and Twitter ​@BloombergDotOrg​.

About BYD
Since its inception in 1995 in Shenzhen, China, BYD Company Ltd. quickly grew into
a green-tech giant and relentless advocate of sustainable development, as well as a
pioneer in successfully expanding its New Energy solutions globally. Specializing in
battery technologies, its sustainability mission to create a Zero Emission Energy
Ecosystem – comprising affordable solar power generation, reliable energy storage
and cutting-edge electrified transportation – has made the company an industry
leader in the energy and technology sectors. BYD and its shareholders – among
them notable American investor Warren Buffett – see sustainable development
through technological advancement in products and solutions as the only way into
the future. In 2016, the company was granted the Large Corporation Award of the
Zayed Future Energy Prize for its solid contribution to sustainable development in
the energy sector. For more information, please visit us at ​www.byd.com or
www.facebook.com/bydcompany or
http://www.c40.org/custom_pages/c40-cities-awards-partners​.

About the C40 Cities Awards Jury Panel:


● David Miller ​- Chair of the Jury Panel, President & CEO, WWF Canada;
Former Mayor of Toronto; Former C40 Chair
● Dr. Fauzi Bowo - Former Governor of Jakarta; Indonesian Ambassador to
Germany
● Amanda Eichel​ - Special Advisor, Bloomberg Philanthropies
● Nicky Gavron AM - ​Former Deputy-Mayor of London;​
​ London Assembly
Member
● Stella Li ​- Senior Vice-President, BYD Company Limited
● Mr. Kgosiento Ramokgopa​ - Former Mayor of Tshwane
● Rodrigo Rosa ​- Special Advisor to the C40 Chair; Executive Representative
of the City of Rio de Janeiro in the C40 Climate Leadership Group
● Dr. Leena Srivastava​ - Vice-Chancellor, TERI University
● Jie Tang ​- Former Vice-Mayor of Shenzhen

6
LONDON​ C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group
North West Entrance, City-Gate House, 39-45 Finsbury Square, Level 7, London EC2A 1PX, United Kingdom

You might also like