Tag: Rio+20

With the Rio+20 Earth Summit kicking off in less than three weeks, the world’s attention will once again turn toward how the international community is engaging in and dealing with global climate change. Some have expressed concerns that current negotiations are not bearing results and many do not want to see another conference come and go without concrete actions taken. While there may be gridlock on the international level, Rio+20 also presents an opportunity for cities – particularly C40 Cities – to bring into focus what cities have been doing, are doing and are capable of doing to combat global climate change by addressing matters locally.

The City of Sao Paulo was recently host to the 11th Conference on Clean Production, which highlighted the growing global attention on the issue of environmental sustainability -- what Gilberto Natalini, a Sao Paulo city councillor and organizer of the event, called “humanity’s most important asset.”

When C40 City Rio de Janeiro took stock of risks and challenges -- from extreme weather, to traffic congestion, to upcoming mega-events such as Rio+20, it decided to create the Operations Center in the service of Cariocas (the citizens of Rio de Janeiro). Built in record time and located in the central zone of the city, Rio City Hall’s Operations Center was launched in December 2010, and remains one of the most cutting-edge centers of its kind in the world.

Jay Carson, Executive Director of C40, was recently featured in the leading Brazilian newspaper O Globo, talking about C40’s plans for the upcoming Rio+20 Summit in Brazil.