Recent Posts

Climate change is the most pressing environmental, social and economic problem facing the planet, a problem that is intensifying while global climate treaties and national legislation have hit roadblocks. Driven by the burning of fossil fuels, CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere is rapidly reaching critical levels. This combined with rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns and the depletion of water resources, makes taking action even that much more critical.

The City of São Paulo, host of the 2011 C40 Mayors Summit, has released comprehensive guidelines for its Action Plan for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change , marking a major milestone since the 2009 passage of a citywide bill – the first in Brazil -- to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2012 (from a 2005 baseline), and address climate-related risks.

The Mayor of Copenhagen Frank Jensen is attending the C40 Summit in Sao Paulo this week, and has brought with him a list of sustainable solutions from Copenhagen. Looking to move beyond isolated equipment or practices, Mayor Jensen is focused on applying a combination of technology, knowledge and organization to the difficult problems associated with climate change. Please visit the Copenhagen website for more information about how this C40 City is developing innovative solutions to climate change.

The World Bank's website has a great update on the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Mayors Summit, cities' increasing role in combating climate change, and the World Bank's new study "Climate Change, Disaster Risk and the Urban Poor."

Formerly a freight yard, the Bahnstadt area will now house a sustainable city district where all the buildings are being built to meet strict energy efficiency standards. The city of Heidelberg, Germany is building one of the world’s largest developments of passive housing – buildings that are highly energy efficient. The district, known as the Bahnstadt, is being built around three core concepts: reduce energy need, generage energy cleanly and efficiently and use that energy as efficiently as possible.