Joburg wins prestigious C40 Cities Award in Paris
04 December 2015
On Thursday night, 03 December 2015, the City of Johannesburg was announced as a winner of the prestigious C40 Cities Award for its leadership in tackling climate change through its successful Green Bond initiative.
The city was among 10 global cities announced as winners at the 3rd Annual C40 Cities Awards held in Paris, France, during the COP21 climate negotiations.
These winning cities, which include Johannesburg, Boston, Rotterdam and Nanjing each demonstrated exceptional innovation and ambition to build low carbon and climate resilient urban communities in various sectors.
The accolade was announced as the City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor, Cllr. Parks Tau made his way to Paris for the Climate Summit for Local Leaders on Friday, 04 December 2015, as part of the Compact of Mayors - a global coalition of city leaders dedicated to taking climate action. The award was received on behalf of the city by Johannesburg Member of Mayoral Committee for Finance, Cllr. Geaff Makhubo.
Johannesburg welcomed the win in the Finance & Economic Development category award for the city’s already oversubscribed Green Bond investment initiative, which is an innovative financial instrument committing it to future emissions reductions, and has raised R1.458 billion in the past financial year.
The Green Bond is based on a detailed climate change vulnerability assessment which helps the city to understand its climate risk and the recognition by C40 is an indicator that Johannesburg is moving in the right direction with its interventions to mitigate climate change. The Green Bond also supports the city by creating funding opportunities to assist in preparing and implementing integrated inclusive and long-term mitigation strategies designed to reduce vulnerability.
Felipe Calderón, former President of Mexico and Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate serves as Chair of the C40 Cities Awards Jury Panel, who selected the winners from among 33 finalists announced in October, 2015.
“As leaders from around the world meet in Paris to agree on binding emission targets, the efforts of these 10 award-winning cities remind us that innovation drives results, and concrete solutions and actions – that improve the health, well-being and economic opportunities of urban citizens -- can be implemented right now. I thank our esteemed Jury Panel and commend my fellow mayors for their leadership and commitment to tackle climate change. By taking local action, we are having a global impact,” said C40 Chair, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes.
C40 President and UN Secretary General Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael R. Bloomberg said: "The C40 Cities Awards recognizes mayors who are doing the hard work of taking action on climate change -- and delivering results.”
“The solutions highlighted through the awards offer models for other cities to follow, and it is great to see the number of applications increase each year -- a sure sign that our progress is accelerating. Cities are leading by example, and tonight's winners are at the forefront of that work,” he said.
C40 received more than 200 applications from 94 cities for the 2015 Awards. Of the ten awards categories, four are open to C40 Cities and those that are part of the Compact of Mayors.
*This year’s winners in the ten award categories are; Johannesburg (Finance & Economic Development), Boston (Smart Cities & Smart Community Engagement), Cape Town (Adaptation Implementation), Nanjing (Transportation), New York (Building Energy Efficiency), Rotterdam (Adaptation Planning & Assessment), Stockholm (Sustainable Communities), Vancouver (Carbon Measurement & Planning), Washington, DC (Green Energy), Wuhan (Solid Waste).
*About the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40)
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, now in its 10th year, connects more than 80 of the world’s greatest cities, representing 600+ million people and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on tackling climate change and driving urban action that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and climate risks, while increasing the health, wellbeing and economic opportunities of urban citizens.