Clinton Climate Initiative Focuses on City Infrastructure

On May 19, 2009, the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, 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.

Rapid urban growth and climate change are putting the 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.

“As the Earth’s population increases and our cities grow, we need to ensure we have the models in place to sustain our way of life in an increasingly urbanized world,” President Clinton said. “The Climate Positive Development Program will set a new global standard for developments that will minimize environmental impacts and benefit economies as we build and rebuild homes, schools, and businesses.”

To reduce the net greenhouse gas emissions of these projects to below zero, property developers and local governments will agree to work in partnership on specific areas of activity. This includes implementing economically viable innovations in building, the generation of clean energy, waste management, water management, transportation, and outdoor lighting systems.

When the initial 16 projects are completed, nearly one million people will live and work in Climate Positive communities. These communities will be located in: Melbourne, Australia; Palhoça, Brazil; Toronto, Canada; Victoria, Canada; Ahmedabad, India; Jaipur, India; outside Panama City, Panama; Pretoria, South Africa; Johannesburg, South Africa; Seoul, South Korea; Stockholm, Sweden; London, UK; San Francisco, USA and Destiny Florida, USA.

“We know that when it comes to combating the threat of climate change, cities are acting in many ways,” said Toronto Mayor David Miller, Chair of the C40 Group of large cities leading on climate change. “Climate Positive is yet another way cities will be able to continue to lead this important fight. This initiative is particularly important as the world becomes more urbanized and I want to thank CCI for making it a reality.”

“I am sure our effort to fight global warming will be a successful one if initiatives like the Climate Positive Development Program continue to be widely accepted around the world,” said Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul.