Awards recognise world’s leading urban climate change projects, policies and programmes

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) announced today the 35 finalists competing in ten urban climate action categories for the fourth-annual C40 Cities Awards, sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies and BYD. The winners will be announced on December 1, 2016, at a ceremony in Mexico City, held alongside the sixth biennial C40 Mayors Summit.

The C40 Cities Awards provides cities with international recognition for their leadership on climate action and showcases the innovative policies and programmes that cities have implemented to tackle climate change.

“The selected finalists have each demonstrated bold leadership in implementing pioneering projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilient cities,” said C40 Chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes. “These cities are truly leading the way in tackling climate change, and we believe that their stories will inspire others to take action.”

“The C40 Cities Awards celebrate the most innovative and exciting projects to fight climate change and improve lives in cities around the world, and this group of finalists has the potential to make a very big difference,” said UN Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change and C40 Board President, Michael R. Bloomberg. “As nations work to reach the goals they set in Paris, C40 cities are helping to lead the way.”

C40 received 160 applications from 75 cities, which were assessed by a selection committee of urban sustainability and climate change experts at C40 and Sustainia. The applications for the C40 Cities Awards were evaluated on five assessment criteria including: climate action, co-benefits, innovation, governance and ability to share and scale the project.

The ten C40 Cities Awards categories are: Climate Action Plans & Inventories; Adaptation Plans & Assessments; Building Energy Efficiency; Clean Energy; Finance & Economic Development; Solid Waste; Adaptation in Action; Transportation; Sustainable Communities; and Social Equity & Climate Change. Finalist cities by category are as follows:

Climate Action Plans & Inventories

  • Portland – 2015 Climate Action Plan (CAP)
  • Paris – Paris Climate and Energy Action Plan – 2012-2020
  • Cape Town – Energy and Climate Change Programme – Energy2040 Vision and Energy and Climate Action Plan
  • Buenos Aires – Buenos Aires Climate Change Action Plan based on a GPC compliant GHG Inventory

Adaptation Plans & Assessments 

  • New York City – New York City Resilient Neighborhoods Studies
  • Paris – Paris Adaptation Strategy: Towards a more resilient city
  • Belo Horizonte – Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment of the city of Belo Horizonte

Building Energy Efficiency

  • San Francisco – San Francisco's Comprehensive Approach to Energy Efficiency Market Transformation
  • Guangzhou – Green Public Institutions in Guangzhou
  • Melbourne & Sydney – CitySwitch Green Office

Clean Energy

  • Vancouver – Vancouver Neighbourhood Energy Strategy
  • Yokohama – Yokohama Smart City Project
  • Washington, DC – Walter F. Bailey Bioenergy Facility
  • Johannesburg – Joburg BioGas to Energy Programme

Finance & Economic Development

  • Toronto – Unique Retrofit Financing through HELP (Home Energy Loan Programme) and Hi-RIS (High-Rise Retrofit Improvement Support)
  • Canberra – Reverse Auctions – Securing 100% Renewable Electricity for Canberra by 2020
  • Shenzhen – Shenzhen Emissions Trading System

Solid Waste

  • Milan – Do not waste food, but reduce food waste
  • Auckland – Auckland: Waste to Resources
  • Kolkata – Kolkata Solid Waste Management Improvement Project (KSWMIP)

Adaptation in Action

  • Hong Kong – Quest for Sustainable Use of Water Resources in Hong Kong
  • San Francisco – San Francisco's Non-potable Water Programme
  • Copenhagen – Copenhagen's Cloudburst Management Plan – Project Implementation

Transportation

  • Houston – The New METRO: Making Transit Work for Houston
  • Addis Ababa – Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit Project
  • Wuhan – Wuhan Huantou Public Bicycle Service System
  • Mexico City –  Mexico City's Comprehensive Mobility Programme 2013-2018
  • Taiyuan – Taiyuan New Energy Vehicle Promotion Project

Sustainable Communities

  • Cape Town – City of Cape Town – Transit Oriented Development Strategic Framework (TODSF), March 2016
  • Toronto – Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action Plan (SNAP)
  • Auckland – Wynyard Quarter Redevelopment, Auckland, New Zealand
  • Curitiba – Urban Agriculture in Curitiba

Social Equity & Climate Change

  • New York City – Inclusive Growth and Climate Action through OneNYC
  • Portland – 2015 Climate Action Plan (CAP)
  • Seoul – Energy Welfare Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Programme

For more information on the Awards and the projects of the Finalist cities, go to: www.c40.org/awards.

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