C40 Cities Awards applications now open

C40 has joined with new partners, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and vehicle manufacturer BYD, to announce the opening of submissions for this year’s edition of the C40 Cities Awards.

The global city network has also partnered with Scandinavian think tank, Sustainia, to produce a new publication, Cities100, which seeks to identify, connect, and communicate new and novel solutions to the problems of climate change that afflict cities today.

“The 2015 C40 Cities Awards and Cities100 publication will showcase climate action in some of the world’s biggest and most innovative cities that are demonstrating strong leadership, fostering collaboration and spreading best practice in order to address climate change,” Mark Watts, C40 Executive Director, told Cities Today.

Cities will have three chances for global recognition: 100 solutions will be featured in the new publication, and from this group, 30 cities will be selected as C40 Cities Awards finalists, of which 10 will be announced as winners.

Finalists and winners will be chosen by a jury panel–that will be confirmed over the next month–with representatives from all seven of C40’s regions as well as representatives from Bloomberg Philanthropies and BYD.

“Together we can show that a low-carbon pathway is not only achievable but also drives innovation, social equity and economic growth,” added Watts. “2015 is a year of unprecedented opportunity for nations to forge an international climate agreement and ensure a climate safe world, the awards will show the world that city-based solutions and results can and should raise the level of ambition of all actors.”

Applications and third-party nominations need to be submitted online by 17 August 2015.  The invitation-only awards event will take place on 3 December 2015 in Paris, to coincide with the UN climate change conference. To enter and find out further information, see: www.c40.org/awards