Finalists selected for C40 Cities Awards

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group (C40) has announced the 33 finalists competing in ten urban climate action categories for the third annual C40 Cities Awards. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony to take place in Paris on December 3, during the COP21 climate negotiations.

The C40 Cities Awards provide global recognition for cities demonstrating world leading policies and programmes that reduce emissions and improve sustainability; they represent a breadth of tangible climate solutions in key sectors including building energy efficiency, low-carbon transport and climate adaptation, making cities all over the world more liveable.

This year, C40 received more than 200 applications from 94 cities, which were reviewed in partnership with sustainability think tank and consultancy Sustainia. Of the ten Awards categories, four are open only to C40 cities and cities that have committed or intend to commit to the Compact of Mayors, a global coalition of mayors and city officials committed to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions, enhance resilience to climate change and track their progress transparently. The Finalist projects were selected based on five assessment criteria, including innovation, co-benefits, and ability to replicate and scale up the project.

“It’s quite substantial for cities to learn from each other on how to improve the urban environment and reduce the emissions,” said Sherry Li, BYD Overseas Marketing Director. “BYD is also trying our best to build a communication platform for cities around the world through meaningful ways. BYD is very pleased to see that our electric urban public transportation strategy has extended to more than 150 cities globally from the original city of Shenzhen.”

Finalist cities by category:

Carbon Measurement & Planning: Portland, Seoul, Vancouver

Adaptation Planning & Assessment: Melbourne, New Orleans, Rotterdam

Building Energy Efficiency: New York, Seoul, Sydney

Green Energy: Amman, Vancouver, Washington, DC

Finance & Economic Development: Johannesburg, London, Toronto

Solid Waste: Durban, Milan, Wuhan, Yokohama

Adaptation Implementation: Cape Town, Copenhagen, Jakarta, Paris

Smart Cities & Smart Community Engagement: Boston, Melbourne, New York

Sustainable Communities: Johannesburg, Stockholm, Wuhan

Transportation: Buenos Aires, London & Bogotá, Nanjing, Singapore

“These 33 finalist projects demonstrate real leadership in urban sustainability, and offer concrete, successful models for cities around the world to replicate and implement, driving us toward a brighter global future,” added Watts.