Fact

Sheet: C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group

Who we are:
The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) was created by cities for cities. Founded in 2005, it is
now a preeminent global organization and network of 69 cities committed to reducing greenhouse
gas emissions and climate risks. C40 helps cities identify, develop, and implement local policies and
programs that have collective global impact. Working across multiple sectors and initiative areas,
C40 convenes networks of cities with common goals and challenges, providing a suite of services in
support of their efforts: direct technical assistance; facilitation of peer-to-peer exchange; and
research, knowledge management & communications. C40 is also positioning cities as a leading
force for climate action around the world, defining and amplifying their call to national governments
for greater support and autonomy in creating a sustainable future.

Leadership:
The current Chair is Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes; the President of the Board is, 108th Mayor
of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg and Mark Watts serves as Executive Director. All three work
closely with the eleven-member Steering Committee, the Board of Directors and the C40
professional staff.

Goals and Objectives:
1. Use knowledge-sharing and metrics-driven implementation to achieve measurable and
meaningful reductions in both greenhouse gas emissions and risks associated with climate
change, along with realizing the local benefits of these solutions (cleaner air and water,
lower energy costs, less traffic congestion, higher quality of life, longer lifespans, green jobs
and green businesses).
2. Bring the worlds megacities together in meaningful exchanges to speed up the global
adoption of climate policies and programs that have been demonstrated to work in one or
more member cities.
3. Enable the worlds megacities to be better-prepared for climate change and to, wherever
possible, minimize the risk associated with global climate change and reduce or even avoid
the health, environmental and economic impacts that could result.
4. Set actionable, measurable goals at the individual city level and the organizational level to
ensure actions and outputs are equating to success.

History:
In October 2005, then Mayor of London Ken Livingstone convened a meeting of 18 large cities to
collaborate on climate change solutions. This group was originally known as the C20. The
participating cities agreed to develop coordinated procurement policies and a commitment to
accelerate adoption of new technologies to offset emissions. In July 2006, it was announced that the
Cities Programme of the William Jefferson Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) would partner with the
organization and it was renamed C40. The new organization included 40 large cities and an
additional number of smaller cities that were leaders in addressing climate change. In 2011, under
the leadership of Mayor Bloomberg, the CCI Cities Programme fully integrated into the C40, and the
organisation established an executive leadership team and a full-time professional staff.

Membership:
C40 offers three types of membership categories to reflect the diversity of cities taking action to
address climate change. The categories consider such characteristics as population size, economic
output, environmental leadership, and the length of a citys membership.


1. Megacities
Population: City population of 3 million or more, and/or metropolitan area
population of 10 million or more, either currently or projected for 2025. OR
GDP: One of the top 25 global cities, ranked by current GDP output, at purchasing-
power parity (PPP), either currently or projected for 2025.
2. Innovator Cities
Cities that do not qualify as Megacities but have shown clear leadership in
environmental and climate change work.
An Innovator City must be internationally recognized for barrier-breaking climate
work, a leader in the field of environmental sustainability, and a regionally
recognized anchor city for the relevant metropolitan area.
3. Observer Cities
A short-term category for new cities applying to join the C40 for the first time; all
cities applying for Megacity or Innovator membership will initially be admitted as
Observers until they meet C40s year-one participation requirements, for up to one
year.
A longer-term category for cities that meet Megacity or Innovator City guidelines
and participation requirements, but for local regulatory or procedural reasons, are
unable to approve participation as a Megacity or Innovator City expeditiously.

Current C40 Members

Megacities: Addis Ababa, Athens, Bangkok, Berlin, Bogot, Boston, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Caracas,
Chicago, Delhi NCT, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Houston, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jakarta,
Johannesburg, Karachi, Lagos, Lima, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Mexico City, Moscow,
Mumbai, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shenzhen, Sydney,
Tokyo, Toronto, Warsaw, Washington DC and Yokohoma.

Innovator Cities: Amsterdam, Austin, Barcelona, Basel, Changwon, Copenhagen, Curitiba,
Heidelberg, Milan, New Orleans, Oslo, Portland, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Santiago, Seattle,
Stockholm, Vancouver and Venice.

Observer Cities: Beijing, Cape Town, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Republic of Singapore, Shanghai and
Wuhan.

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For further inquiries please contact:

Media:
mmarinello (at) c40 (dot) org

More information:
Visit: www.C40.org
Twitter: @C40cities; #ycities
Facebook: C40 Cities