News

C40 welcomes Hong Kong membership in alliance to tackle climate change

November 8, 2007

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, chair of C40, today welcomed the news the Hong Kong has accepted an invitation to join other major cities around the world as part of the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group.

The C40 was set up by the Mayor of London with the to accelerate cities' programmes to combat climate change. The C40 cities have pledged to work together, to share best practice and to take action in reducing Greenhouse gas emissions. In order to achieve this, the C40 entered into a partnership arrangement with the Clinton Climate Initiative to develop programmes that would help cities fulfill their objectives.

Ken Livingstone, said: ‘It is welcome news that Hong Kong has joined the C40 group of cities in the fight to tackle global warming. Urban areas are responsible for over 75 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, so the battle to prevent catastrophic climate change will be won or lost in cities. Existing C40 members will now be able to learn from the excellent work already being undertaken by Hong Kong to reduce harmful emissions through greater energy efficiency, and the use of cleaner energy sources.’

In a letter to C40 confirming their membership, Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, said: ‘I look forward to collaboration with other participating cities in C40 to tackle the global issue of climate change.’

Ends

Notes to editors

1. 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.
2. 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.