The

C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a group of 96 cities that represents one twelfth of the world's population and one quarter of the global economy. Created and led by cities, C40 is focused on fighting the climate crisis and driving urban ac ...

’s Climate Positive Development Program (Climate Positive) was launched in May 2009 in partnership with the

Clinton Climate Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

and the U.S. Green Building Council. The program brings together leading district-scale new-build and regeneration projects working to achieve "Climate Positive"—or net

carbon negative Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a process in which carbon dioxide () is removed from the atmosphere by deliberate human activities and durably stored in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products.IPCC, 2021:Annex VII: Glossar ...

—outcomes in cities around the world. As part of the C40’s Sustainable Communities Initiative, it aims to create a model for large-scale urban communities and to support projects that serve as urban laboratories for cities seeking to grow in ways that are environmentally sustainable, climate resilient, and economically viable. Climate Positive is an exclusive program, with a competitive application process, and currently comprises 17 global projects that will collectively reduce the emissions impact of more than one million people. The cities in which the Climate Positive projects are located support the implementation process locally and share best practices globally through participation in the C40 Climate Positive Network. The projects are in different stages of development, but share key characteristics like high densities, highly efficient buildings, mixed-use zoning and transit accessibility.

History

Climate Positive was developed in partnership by the C40, the Clinton Climate Initiative, and the U.S. Green Building Council and was launched at the

summit in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea in May 2009. At the time of its launch, Climate Positive had 16 founding projects on six continents, supported by local governments and property developers. In October 2012, the City of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

’s Nordhaven project was accepted to join the Program, and in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Obdebrecht's Parque da Cidade (Park of the City) formally launched with a big kick-off event bringing the total number of projects to 17. The current projects are located in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia;

Palhoça Palhoça is a municipality in Santa Catarina, Brazil. History Palhoça was founded in 1793, when the city was part of the way between Lages and Florianópolis in order to protect the capital state from possible invasions. Its name comes from " ...

and

, Brazil;

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Canada;

, Denmark;

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

and

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

, India;

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, South Africa;

, South Korea;

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden;

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, United Kingdom; Oberlin,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, United States.

Objectives

With the primary objective to build Climate Positive (operational net carbon negative) districts in cities, the Climate Positive Development Program attempts to change the paradigm of district scale development through three main activities: * Recognizing exemplary achievement * Sharing best practices and challenges experienced amongst development partners * Facilitating the broader implementation in cities of scalable projects, policies, and programs with low carbon emissions

Leadership

In April 2013, it was announced that the Mayor of

Fernando Haddad Fernando Haddad (; born 25 January 1963) is a Brazilian scholar, lawyer and politician who has served as the Brazilian Minister of Finance since 1 January 2023. He was previously the mayor of São Paulo from 2013 to 2017 and the Brazilian mini ...

, and the Mayor of

Sten Nordin Sten Nordin (born 18 February 1956) is a Swedish politician of the Moderate Party and the governor of Blekinge County. He served as mayor of Stockholm from 2008 to 2014. Educated at the University of Uppsala, he was chairman of the Heimdal Asso ...

would share the chairmanship of Climate Positive and together lead the network due to their leadership and commitment to finding replicable city-scale solutions to address climate change.

How it Works

Each Climate Positive Development project has a unique profile determined by its distinct economic, political, and climate challenges; however, every project aims to lower their operational

greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...

to below zero. Moreover, development partners across the 18 projects are expected to focus on reducing operational carbon emissions at the district scale from transportation, energy, and waste sectors, and are required to share the solutions they come up with., Copenhagen’s Nordhavn Project Joins C40 Climate Positive Development Program ''C40 Blog'' accessed 2013-07-17 The Program also provides technical and logistical support to Development Partners by hosting learning programs and webinars, convening private sector firms to produce tools and templates for project use, increasing project visibility through various media channels, and granting access to technical experts and other partners within the Climate Positive and C40 network. In order to become Climate Positive and achieve net carbon negative outcomes, development partners earn Climate Positive Credits by sequestering emissions on-site and abating emissions from surrounding communities. There are many different paths to the Climate Positive outcome of net-negative operational

GHG emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate change. The l ...

; each project will use a different set of strategies and technologies according to its local opportunities, guided by the Climate Positive Development Framework, which lays out the four stages of Climate Positive. As projects move through the four recognition stages, from Climate Positive Candidate, to Climate Positive Participant, to Progress Site, and ultimately at project completion and Climate Positive certification, development partners submit documentation to the Program to ensure that they remain on track, and receive feedback from program staff and affiliated technical experts.

The Projects

Victoria Harbour, Melbourne, AustraliaBarangaroo, Sydney, AustraliaParque da Cidade, São Paulo, BrazilPedra Branca Sustainable Urbanism, Palhoça, Greater Florianópolis, BrazilDockside Green, Victoria, BC, CanadaWaterfront Toronto, Lower Don Lands, Toronto, ON, CanadaNordhavn, Copenhagen, Denmark

ProjectZero, Sønderborg, DenmarkGodrej Garden City, Ahmedabad, India

Mahindra World City, Jaipur, IndiaMenlyn Maine, Pretoria, South AfricaMagok Urban Development Project, Seoul, South KoreaStockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm, SwedenElephant & Castle, London, UKTreasure Island Development Project, San Francisco, CA, USAThe Oberlin Project, Oberlin, OH, USASouthwaterfront EcoDistricts, Portland, OR, USAThe Shinagawa Project, Tokyo, Japan

References

{{reflist

External links

climatepositivedevelopment.orgCities Go Climate PositiveC40 cities official web site
Environmental organizations based in the United States