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The Cities That Are Leading on Climate Change

Author

David Thorpe

The City Climate Leadership Awards ceremony in New York City

The winners of the second annual City Climate Leadership Awards were revealed on Monday night by C40 and Siemens at an award ceremony in New York City.

The Awards recognize cities all over the world that have achieved excellence in urban sustainability and leadership in the fight against climate change. The winning cities are (in alphabetical order, showing the categories in which they won):

  1. Amsterdam (Finance & Economic Development)
  2. Barcelona (Intelligent City Infrastructure)
  3. Buenos Aires (Solid Waste Management)
  4. London (Carbon Measurement & Planning and Air Quality)
  5. Melbourne (Adaptation & Resilience)
  6. New York City (Energy Efficient Built Environment)
  7. Portland (Sustainable Communities)
  8. Seoul (Green Energy)
  9. Shenzhen (Urban Transportation)
  10. Taipei (Citizen's Choice)

C40 Steering committee debating the city climate leadership awards

The C40 Steering Committee debating the City Climate Leadership Awards 

City Climate Leadership Award winners

There was some surprise at London's selection for air quality, given that its Mayor, Boris Johnson, was forced to appear this month before the Government's Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) to explain why the UK is facing legal action from Brussels for failing to meet air quality targets in London. But the awards are clearly intended to recognise innovations that will make a difference in the future, rather than present performance.

 C40 Chair, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes said: "I commend the winning cities for their leadership and commitment, and am confident that their knowledge and experience will help drive other cities to implement on-the-ground solutions faster and more efficiently. Through cooperation and collaboration, cities continue to deliver the results that are having a global impact."