News

C40 welcomes President Clinton announcement to expand global alliance to tackle climate change

November 5, 2007

The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, Chair of the C40, today welcomed President Bill Clinton's announcement that 1100 US cities will now have access to a global purchasing alliance, which has already been negotiated on behalf of the C40 to help tackle climate change.

President Clinton announced that the Clinton Climate Initiative has negotiated an alliance with the US Conference of Mayors, Wal-Mart and 15 global manufacturers of energy saving products to allow the volume discounts on energy efficient technologies from LED lights and window films to vehicle components. Forty of the world's largest cities - through the C40 partnership - are already benefiting from access to hundreds of individual products that are energy efficient and less polluting in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, said: 'Urban areas are responsible for over three quarters of global greenhouse gas, so reducing energy use in cities is crucial to slow the pace of global warming. I welcome President Clinton's announcement that 1100 US cities will now be adding their procurement clout to that of the C40 cities, further stimulating markets for low carbon products and services that will help us accelerate emissions reductions. By working together in ways such as this, cities are putting themselves at the forefront of the fight to prevent catastrophic climate change.'

The C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group was set up by the Mayor of London with the express objective of reducing greenhouse gases from urban areas. In order to achieve this, the C40 entered into a partnership arrangement with the Clinton Climate Initiative, whereby the Clinton Climate Initiative would develop programmes that would help cities drive forward action.

Earlier this year, the Mayor of London joined with President Clinton and mayors from cities across the world to announce the creation of a global Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Programme - to cut carbon emissions by making existing commercial buildings more energy efficient. This month, the Mayor confirmed that eight companies from the UK and abroad have been shortlisted, as part of the tender process to make the Greater London Authority Group's buildings more energy efficient.

Ends

Notes to editors

1. The C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group is comprised of the following cities: Addis Ababa, Athens, Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Caracas, Chicago, Delhi, Dhaka, Hanoi, Houston, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Karachi, Lagos, Lima, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, Tokyo, and Warsaw.
2. For more information on C40 visit: www.c40cities.org - for more information on the Clinton Climate Initiative visit: www.clintonfoundation.org
3. President Clinton made this announcement at the US Conference of Mayors on November 1.