President Clinton Announces Landmark Program to Reduce Energy Use in Buildings Worldwide

May 16, 2007
New York, NY

President Bill Clinton today announced the creation of a global Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, a project of the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). This program brings together four of the world’s largest energy service companies (ESCOs), five of the world’s largest banks, and sixteen of the world’s largest cities in a landmark program designed to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings.

Photo courtesy of David Scull/Clinton Foundation

“Climate change is a global problem that requires local action,” said President Clinton. “The businesses, banks and cities partnering with my foundation are addressing the issue of global warming because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s good for their bottom line. They’re going to save money, make money, create jobs and have a tremendous collective impact on climate change all at once. I’m proud of them for showing leadership on the critical issue of climate change and I thank them for their commitment to this new initiative.”

Urban areas are responsible for approximately 75 percent of all energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Buildings account for nearly 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and in cities such as New York and London this figure is close to 70 percent. The Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program will provide both cities and their private building owners with access to the necessary funds to retrofit existing buildings with more energy efficient products, typically leading to energy savings between 20 to 50 percent.

• Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Inc, Siemens and Trane will conduct energy audits, perform building retrofits, and guarantee the energy savings of the retrofit projects.
• ABN AMRO, Citi, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and UBS have committed to arrange $1 billion each to finance cities and private building owners to undertake these retrofits at no net cost, doubling the global market for energy retrofit in buildings.
• These banks will work alongside energy efficiency finance specialist Hannon Armstrong and CCI to develop effective mechanisms to deploy this capital globally. Cities and building owners will pay back the loans plus interest with the energy savings generated by the reduced energy costs thanks to the building retrofits.
• An initial group of sixteen of the world’s largest cities has agreed to participate in the retrofit program, and offer their municipal buildings for the first round of energy retrofits: Bangkok, Berlin, Chicago, Houston, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Mumbai, New York, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo, and Toronto.

As part of the Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, cities have agreed to develop a program to make their municipal buildings more energy efficient and provide incentives for private building owners to retrofit their buildings with energy saving technologies. The retrofit program will be consistent with, and work within, city procurement and tendering rules. Participation in the program will be open to local banks and companies, who will be invited to contribute to the funding pool and to expand the list of green products used in retrofits. This is the first of many programs that CCI is organizing with partner cities in the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, an association of large cities that have agreed to work together to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

“Mayors are responsible for coming up with pragmatic solutions and implementing them effectively – and this program will allow us to do that,” said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “We’ve laid out an ambitious agenda to reduce our carbon emissions, 80 percent of which come from buildings, while being economically competitive and continuing to grow. By bringing together cities and partnering with the private sector, President Clinton and the Clinton Foundation are providing the tools to help cities accomplish our goals. I applaud their leadership and am proud to stand with our partners today.”

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, Chair of the C40, said: “The C40 brings together the world’s most significant cities to tackle climate change. This first program to come out of our partnership with the Clinton Climate Initiative is a considerable breakthrough. This procurement alliance will make it financially feasible for cities to radically cut emissions from buildings. Fifteen cities have already signed up to take advantage of this initiative and I am confident many more will follow. 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.”

CCI and its partners will also assist participating cities with their initiation and development of programs to train local workers on the installation and maintenance of energy saving and clean energy products. The U.S. Green Building Council and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers have agreed to help coordinate these programs.

Listen to the press conference (mp3 - 13mb).

Downloadable Documents:
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About the Clinton Climate Initiative

Building on his long-term commitment to preserving the environment, President Clinton launched the Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative in August 2006 with the mission of applying the Foundation’s business-oriented approach to the fight against climate change in practical, measurable, and significant ways. In its first phase, CCI is working with the C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group to accelerate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CCI team members have visited nearly all of these cities and are working with them to define projects and take action.

The C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group is comprised of the following cities: Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Caracas, Chicago, Delhi, Dhaka, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Karachi, Lagos, Lima, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Manila, Melbourne, Mexico City, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Toronto, Tokyo, and Warsaw.

For more information contact the Clinton Foundation Press Office: press(at)clintonfoundation.org

Bellingham, Washington, USA – February 12, 2007 – A World Institute for Sustainable Humanity--International (A W.I.S.H) located in Bellingham, Washington, and its Athens, Greece, based affiliate AW.I.S.Hhellas, announced today a partnership with the Athens/Paris based SD-Med International Association to collaborate on sustainable development and green building practices in the Mediterranean region.

The organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines plans for cooperation on a variety of areas, including development and sharing of best management practices, co-promotion of educational events, creation of educational products and services, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial green building and sustainable development industry. 

“The partnership between A W.I.S.H. International, AWISHhellas, and SD-Med brings together a powerful combination of resources, experiences, and expertise from international organizations in , the , , the Mediterranean region, and the Balkan states dedicated to the far reaching goal of global sustainability,” said A W.I.S.H.hellas President Dr. Nicholas Zaferatos.  “Achieving sustainability is dependent upon the ever increasing networking of local and regional organizations.  We look forward to this new avenue of collaboration for moving the sustainability agenda forward and to join the efforts of our colleagues worldwide toward the pursuit for global community well-being,” he added.

“A W.I.S.H International, SD-Med, and A W.I.S.H.hellas share a common vision – to help communities, companies, and organizations work together to create healthy, vibrant, and sustainable environments,” said Michael Karp, A W.I.S.H. International chief executive officer.  “New design principles, technologies, and construction practices are now available that can positively revolutionize the way we build and revitalize our communities. The challenge now around the world is to develop wide ranging strategies so that they can be rapidly adopted and effectively implemented.  This partnership provides all the organizations involved with exciting new opportunities to meet this challenge,” he added.

“SD-Med is excited to join forces with A W.I.S.H. International and A.W.I.S.Hhellas toward our shared sustainable development vision for the Mediterranean ,” said Dr. Stella Kyvelou, President of the SD-Med Association.  “The construction industry has to focus on innovation in order to reduce the negative impacts on the environment and especially on the climate.  This partnership provides excellent opportunities to combine our resources and increase our ability to ensure that sustainable construction makes positive impacts on communities and the natural environment in the Mediterranean . Our first activities together include a series of conferences in 2007 and 2008 exploring best practices and technologies that will be critical to achieving sustainability,” she added.  For more information on the upcoming conferences, visit www.sd-med.org

About the Organizations
A World Institute for Sustainable Humanity—International is based in Bellingham, Washington, and is global network of social entrepreneurs, technical professionals, and community leaders working for the vision of global sustainability with an emphasis on addressing issues related to poverty.  A W.I.S.H’s Green Building Program works in partnership with governments, private industry, and NGOs to promote green building practices as a fundamental part of sustainable development. The program focuses on opportunities and challenges in sustainable affordable housing as a part of urban revitalization and rural economic development.  For more information, see www.awish.net/gbp.

A World Institute for Sustainable Humanity—Hellas is based in Athens, , administers a sponsored university program on Kefalonia, emphasizing applied research in sustainable development practices. AWISHhellas’ goal is to promote understanding and education in community sustainable development.  Activities include the development of model programs, applied research, seminars, academic programs and university partnerships, workshops and activities which demonstrate sustainable community development.  For more information, see www.awish-hellas.org

SD-Med is a joint Greek, French, and international non-profit enterprise with an aim to strengthen cooperation for Mediterranean sustainable development and construction.  Activities include acquiring and disseminating the knowledge required to foster positive innovations in the construction industry in the Mediterranean region, and to help develop the policies of individual countries that support sustainable construction and environmental quality. For more information, see www.sd-med.org

* Many thanks to Chris ALLEN, member of the AWISH International Board and member of the SD-MED International Forum for his contibution to the above described cooperation and for the  relevant Press release.

Chris Allen is Co-Coordinator of the Green Building Program of A World Institute for Sustainable Humanity.  He is also Principal of Christopher Allen + Associates, a consulting firm offering strategy and project management services to clients worldwide pursuing sustainable development.