|
Building on his long-term commitment to preserving the environment, President Clinton launched the Clinton Foundation's Climate Initiative (CCI) in August 2006 with the mission of applying the Foundation's business-oriented approach to the fight against climate change in practical, measurable and significant ways.
In its first phase, CCI is working with the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, an association of large cities dedicated to tackling climate change-to develop and implement a range of actions that will accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reductions. With cities contributing approximately 75 percent of all heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions to our atmosphere, while only comprising 2 percent of land mass, large cities are critical to winning this fight and slowing the pace of global warming.
There are many actions that urban areas can take to become more energy-efficient, to use cleaner energy, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including the following:
• Energy audits and retrofits of existing buildings
• Green building codes and standards
• Recycling, composting, and use of solid waste to generate energy
• Installation of more energy efficient traffic and street lighting
• Use of clean vehicles and fuels in municipal fleets
• Creation of bus rapid transit systems and bicycle paths
• Schemes to reduce traffic, such as congestion charges
• Energy efficiency upgrades of municipal water and sanitation systems
• Implementation of renewable and distributed energy systems
Many of these actions have been taken in individual cities, but they are not widespread practices. CCI is working with C40 cities and other partners to develop programs in these areas and others that can be rolled out and scaled up globally.
|
