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  PlanetArk 17 May 07
Clinton, Cities, Unveil US$5 Bln Buildings Energy Plan
Story by Michelle Nichols and Timothy Gardner

Yahoo News 17 May 07
World cities unveil 'biggest single step' against climate change
by James Hossack

Yahoo News 17 May 07
16 cities to get financing to 'go green'
By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writer

Yahoo News 16 May 07
Skyscrapers go green under Clinton plan
By Sara Kugler, Associated Press

Channel NewsAsia 16 May 07
World's cities call for action on global warming

NEW YORK : Urban leaders at the C40 conference on global warming called on Tuesday for the world's big cities to take the lead in fighting climate change.

"Climate change is undeniably the single biggest threat to the future of humanity," Mayor of London Ken Livingstone declared as the conference opened in New York. "As cities produce three-fourths of the carbon emissions, we must act," he said.

From Cairo to Shanghai, Los Angeles to Paris, Mexico City to Bangkok, leaders from 46 of the world's greatest cities - including 35 mayors - opened the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit with calls to action on the problem.

"The time for debate is over, the time for action is now," said New York's deputy mayor Daniel Doctoroff. Livingstone said the C40 summit aimed to "create a critical mass that puts the world on the path to avoid a catastrophic climate change ... If we do it in isolation, it will take much longer."

"We came to take decisive actions to reduce our own carbon emissions," he said.

The summit, which began with a reception on Monday and runs through Thursday, is expected to include several joint initiatives that harness the cities' combined purchasing power.

The event is being organised in conjunction with the Clinton Climate Initiative, part of the foundation set up by former US president Bill Clinton, who is due to address the summit on Wednesday.

Besides urban leaders, the summit has drawn participants from dozens of major corporations, including GE, Deutsche Bank, Swiss Re, JP Morgan Chase, Shell, Siemens and Time Warner, some of whom were offering expertise on technological and financial approaches to the problem.

The attendance marked a huge surge in interest in the issue.

When London hosted the first climate change summit in October 2005, only 18 cities joined in.

"Information has been presented better to the public. Even here in the United States things are beginning to move," said Doctoroff. "Last December, last year, it was the first time that it didn't snow in Central Park in December... and we looked at sea levels and we saw that they'd been rising since the 1900s," he said.

Doctoroff explained that New York's own environmental plan, originally designed to deal with population growth, has slowly moved its attention toward the effects of climate change. The city's mayor recently proposed a plan to reduce its gas emissions 30 percent by 2030, with the plan focused on charging an eight dollar fee for cars entering dense downtown Manhattan.

Doctoroff said the city's plan has benefits for green industry. "So many companies are now taking it seriously," he said.

The mayor of Toronto, David Miller, said urban leaders need to take up the issue actively. "When national governments don't lead, cities must lead," he said.

According to the United nations, nearly 80 percent of gases causing global warming come from cities, mostly from cars, airplanes and other modes of transport and from energy burned in households. - AFP/de

Yahoo News 16 May 07
Skyscrapers go green under Clinton plan
By Sara Kugler, Associated Press Writer

Sixteen cities around the world will begin cutting carbon emissions by renovating city-owned buildings with green technology under a program spearheaded by former President Clinton's foundation.

Bill Clinton was to announce the partnership Wednesday, joined by mayors of several of the cities, as part of an international climate summit he is hosting this week in New York City.

Clinton's foundation described details to The Associated Press ahead of the announcement. Major global banking institutions have committed $1 billion to finance the upgrades of municipal buildings in participating cities, which include New York, Chicago, Houston, Toronto, Mexico City, London, Berlin and Tokyo.

The makeovers will include replacing heating, cooling and lighting systems with energy-efficient networks; making roofs white or reflective to deflect more of the sun's heat; sealing windows and installing new models that let more light in; and setting up sensors to control more efficient use of lights and air conditioning.

Clinton's foundation said the planned changes have the potential to reduce energy use by 20 to 50 percent in those buildings. The reduction could mean a significant decrease in heat-trapping carbon emissions, as well as cost savings on utility bills.

Buildings often represent a city's worst culprits in contributing to emissions. In New York, for example, the consumption of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil and steam needed to operate buildings generates 79 percent of the city's total carbon count.

Ira Magaziner, chairman of the Clinton Climate Initiative, said cities and private building owners would like to build and renovate with more energy efficiency, but often cannot put up the initial costs.

The partnership with Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co., UBS AG, and ABN Amro will make that possible and benefits everyone involved, he said.

"They're going to save money, make money, create jobs and have a tremendous collective impact on climate change all at once," Clinton said in a statement.

With the money from the banks, cities will get the green technology at no cost. The program assumes that cities already have money in their budgets set aside for building operations and will pay back loans, plus interest, through the energy savings that the projects achieve over several years.

To ensure those savings are realized, Honeywell International Inc., Johnson Controls Inc., Siemens AG and American Standard Cos. Inc. will conduct energy audits of the buildings, complete the makeovers and guarantee the energy savings. If the expected savings are not realized, those companies will pay the difference or make the changes in the buildings to achieve the savings, the foundation said.

To expedite the project, the bank paperwork and building permitting will be streamlined so that the work can begin on groups of buildings, rather than one at a time, Magaziner said. That could happen as soon as this summer.

"By bringing together cities and partnering with the private sector, President Clinton and the Clinton foundation are providing the tools to help cities achieve our goals," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone called the agreement a "considerable breakthrough."

"This procurement alliance will make it financially feasible for cities to radically cut emissions from buildings," he said in a statement.

The other cities are Rome; Delhi, India; Karachi, Pakistan; Seoul, South Korea; Bangkok, Thailand; Melbourne, Australia; Sao Paolo, Brazil; and Johannesburg, South Africa.

The foundation expects the partnership to expand to more cities and companies after the first round. The agreement comes during the second meeting of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit.

During the first day of the summit on Tuesday, mayors and local leaders from all of the participating cities said it was up to them to take action on climate change, and that they could not afford to wait for their countries to enact national policies.

"Unfortunately, it has fallen to the mayors to do it because at the federal level in this country and other countries, they seem to be tied up," Bloomberg said.

The motivation behind the gathering is the concept that cities bear a significant responsibility to address climate change because they cover less than 1 percent of the Earth's surface but are overwhelmingly responsible for polluting it, generating 80 percent of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

On the Net: http://www.nycclimatesummit.com

Yahoo News 17 May 07
World cities unveil 'biggest single step' against climate change
by James Hossack

Sixteen of the world's largest cities on Wednesday signed up to a global warming initiative described by London Mayor Ken Livingstone as the biggest single step yet taken in tackling climate change.

The five-billion-dollar proposal, unveiled by former US president Bill Clinton and mayors from cities around the world, would involve slashing energy consumption in existing city buildings through improved technology.

Livingstone, one of the major drivers behind the plan, said the program could cut worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by one tenth over the next decade, based on extrapolations of initial savings.

"If we look at the pattern of carbon emissions around the world, in the decade that follows this decision, as this new global industry takes off, we can reduce total global carbon emissions by about 10 percent," he said.

The so-called energy efficiency building retrofit program brings together Clinton's private foundation, four of the largest energy service companies, five of the world's biggest banks and cities from four continents.

"This is not just an initiative, this is the biggest single step to tackle climate change that has been taken by any layers of government anywhere in the world since the debate about climate change started," Livingstone said.

Clinton said that the proposal would help owners of older buildings that leak hot air in the winter and cool air in the summer to slash between 25 and 50 percent off their current energy usage.

"Cities use more than 75 percent of the world's energy and generate more than 75 percent of its greenhouse gases. Buildings are often the largest energy users," he said. "If all buildings were as efficient as they could be, we'd be saving an enormous amount of energy and significantly reducing carbon emissions."

Livingstone said he hoped the initiative would help national leaders to improve their commitment to tackling climate change.

"We in the cities couldn't wait. We see the problems, we see the damage that carbon emissions are doing, the threat of flooding and the violent weather and terrible levels of heat," he said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has already committed his city to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent before 2030, described the initiative as a major contribution to fighting global warming.

"It really is groundbreaking. It really is going to make a difference," he said.

"Today, major businesses and financial institutions increasingly understand that shrinking the world's carbon footprint is a pro-growth strategy, indeed the only pro- growth strategy for the long term," he said.

The program would provide funding for cities and private building owners alike to introduce modern energy-saving solutions, from using more efficient light bulbs to introducing better insulation and heating systems.

The energy savings are expected eventually to offset the costs of the program, the mayors said, without specifying a timeframe.

The cities involved in the initiative include Bangkok, Berlin, Chicago, Houston, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Toronto.

Wednesday's announcement came towards the end of a four-day summit of mayors and business leaders from more than 40 of the world's biggest and most polluted cities aimed at tackling climate change and improving the environment.

Yahoo News 17 May 07
16 cities to get financing to 'go green'
By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writer

Sixteen cities around the world will get financing to "go green" by renovating buildings they own with technology designed to cut carbon emissions, former President Clinton announced Wednesday.

Clinton's foundation has created an arrangement among four energy service companies and five global banking institutions that will result in major environmental upgrades in the cities, which include New York, Chicago, Houston, Toronto, Mexico City, London, Berlin, Tokyo and Rome.

"If all buildings were as efficient as they could be, we'd be saving an enormous amount of energy and significantly reducing carbon emissions. Also, we'd be saving a ton of money," Clinton said.

The planned projects include replacing heating, cooling and lighting systems with energy -efficient networks; making roofs white or reflective to deflect more of the sun's heat; sealing windows and installing new models that let more light in and keep the elements out; and setting up sensors to control more efficient use of lights and air conditioning.

The former president said Citi, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan Chase, UBS and ABN Amro have each committed $1 billion to finance the upgrades.

Clinton announced the partnership Wednesday, joined by mayors of several of the cities, as part of an international climate summit he is hosting this week in New York City with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

It is the second meeting of the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit, which was created so mayors and local governments could share strategies for reversing the trends of climate change.

"It really is groundbreaking; it really is going to make a difference," Bloomberg said.

Retrofitted buildings could see a 20 to 50 percent reduction in energy use, Clinton said. Buildings are among a city's worst contributors to emissions totals, accounting for 50 percent of energy use in newer cities and more than 70 percent in older urban areas.

In New York, for example, electricity, natural gas, fuel oil and steam consumed by buildings make up 79 percent of the city's total count of heat-trapping gases, a recent study found.

Many cities have already taken steps to "green" their municipal buildings, but the foundation said less than 1 percent of the potential market is being tapped in the U.S., and the efforts are less common elsewhere.

One city doing such work is Chicago. Retrofitting the lighting systems in city buildings there over the past six years has resulted in about $4 million in annual savings, said Sadhu Johnston, commissioner of the Chicago Department of the Environment.

The exact nature of the financing will be determined in coming months, the foundation said, and some details will likely differ from city to city. With the money from the banks, cities will get the green technology at no cost.

The program assumes that cities already have money set aside for building operations and will pay back the bank loans, plus interest, through the energy savings that the projects achieve over several years.

To ensure those savings, Honeywell, Johnson Controls Inc., Siemens and Trane will conduct energy audits of the buildings, complete the makeovers and guarantee the energy savings.

If the expected savings are not realized, those companies will pay the difference or make the changes in the buildings, the foundation said.

Warren Karlenzig, author of "How Green Is Your City?", applauded the plan and said many of these retrofits have been "crying out to happen."

"The technology is there; it's just that the financing has been missing," Karlenzig said.

The other cities taking part in the building plan are Mumbai, India; Karachi, Pakistan; Seoul, South Korea; Bangkok, Thailand; Melbourne, Australia; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Johannesburg, South Africa.

The foundation expects the partnership to expand to more cities and companies after the first round.

PlanetArk 17 May 07
Clinton, Cities, Unveil US$5 Bln Buildings Energy Plan
Story by Michelle Nichols and Timothy Gardner

NEW YORK - Five global banks will raise US$5 billion in loans to make existing buildings up to 50 percent more energy efficient with New York, London, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Johannesburg among the first 15 cities to take part.

Under the plan, unveiled on Wednesday by former US President Bill Clinton, city governments and building owners will repay the loans plus interest with savings made from reduced energy costs created by the energy-efficient retrofit.

"Climate change is a global problem that requires local action," Clinton said in a statement, adding that businesses, banks and cities would "save money, make money, create jobs and have a tremendous collective impact on climate change."

Citigroup, UBS, Deutsche Bank, ABN AMRO and JPMorgan Chase have agreed to arrange US$1 billion each for the Clinton Climate Initiative's Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program.

The money will be used to fund the building make-overs at no net cost.

It more than doubles the amount for energy-saving building retrofits, said the Clinton Climate Initiative.

Energy service companies Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Siemens and Trane, owned by American Standard have agreed to boost capacity to allow them to do large numbers of building make-overs and will financially guarantee energy savings from the projects.

New York, London, Tokyo, Bangkok, Johannesburg, Berlin, Chicago, Houston, Karachi, Melbourne, Mexico City, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul and Toronto have offered their municipal buildings for the first round of energy retrofits.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION

"Buildings consume 40 percent of the world's energy and account for one third of greenhouse gases," London Mayor Ken Livingstone said. "This procurement alliance will make it financially feasible for cities to radically cut emissions."

"National governments still struggle to agree a way forward on global warming, but cities, which are responsible for around three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions, are today demonstrating the leadership and decisive action necessary to prevent catastrophic climate change," he said in a statement.

In cities such as London and New York, buildings are responsible for nearly 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists say heat-trapping gases cause global warming, which could cause deadly floods, droughts and heat waves.

The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that global carbon dioxide emissions must fall 50 to 85 percent by 2050 to stop the planet from heating up more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit).

Along with city governments, the program is open to local banks and companies.

The 15 cities committed so far have also agreed to provide incentives for private building owners to become more energy efficient.

The Clinton Climate Initiative said it would announce further deals in the coming months with companies that supply building materials and systems to lower the cost of their most energy efficient models.

"Mayors are responsible for coming up with pragmatic solutions and implementing them effectively -- and this program will allow us to do that," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a statement.

The 15 cities are part of the C40 Large Cities Climate Group, which met for the second time in New York this week with the aim of sharing ideas and banding together to force a cut in the price of technology designed to combat global warming.
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