News

Clinton Climate Initiative to demonstrate model for sustainable urban growth with projects in 10 countries on 6 continents

19 May 2009

Climate Positive Development Program to set example for cities to follow as they grow.

May 19, 2009 – SEOUL – The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, today announced a global program developed in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), called the Climate Positive Development Program. The program will support the development of large-scale urban projects that demonstrate cities can grow in ways that are “climate positive.” Climate Positive real estate developments will strive to reduce the amount of on-site CO2 emissions to below zero.

Sixteen founding projects on six continents, supported by local governments and property developers, will demonstrate Climate Positive strategies, setting a compelling environmental and economic example for cities to follow.

Last year, for the first time, half the world’s population (3.2 billion people) lived in cities¹, and that figure is expected to grow to 70 percent² by 2050. Cities also occupy just 2 percent of the world’s landmass, yet are responsible for more than two-thirds of global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Rapid urban growth and climate change are putting our world’s cities in a vise grip of escalating infrastructure, energy, and health and human services costs that will be magnified by the pressure of climatic adaptation. How cities change and grow is therefore a critical component to tackling the climate crisis.

¹ World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population Database, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

² World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population Database, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs