Tag: Sydney

C40’s Private Sector Buildings Energy Efficiency Network (PSBEEN) has more than 15 active members, spanning Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. Member cities recently gathered for a workshop hosted by the Metropolitan Government of Tokyo, where C40 had the privilege of appointing Tokyo and Sydney as co-chairs of the network. The two cities will play a crucial role as thought leaders and communicators, helping to drive the uptake of best practices in global cities. Zoe Sprigings, our Network Manager for Energy Efficiency, talked to city representatives Yuko Nishida (Tokyo) and Tom Belsham (Sydney) to find out more about their cities’ motivation and vision for leadership.

This month, an innovative new program, Smart Blocks, was launched in two Australian C40 cities, Melbourne and Sydney. Smart Blocks is a national program designed to help apartment owners and their managers save money by improving energy efficiency in apartment buildings.

The City of Sydney has announced plans for a revitalized city center, starting with a project that will remove cars from congested main thoroughfare and transform the area into a spacious plaza, complete with trees and pedestrians. But that won’t mean commuters will have to pick an alternate route – the plaza is part of a larger light rail project by the NSW Government, which will make Sydney more accessible by public transit while making the city greener.

Last week, the City of Sydney signed an Environmental Upgrade Agreement (EUA) with Frasers Property and Eureka Funds Management to build a mixed-use, green energy infrastructure housing development.

Readers of this blog understand the importance of climate change and the reason to focus on cities. Today more than half the world’s population lives in cities. By 2050 that number will be closer to 75 percent.