Sydney environmental initiatives presented at C40 summit

Lord Mayor Clover Moore presented Sydney’s leading environmental initiatives at the C40 Cities climate summit this week.

World leaders like former US president Bill Clinton and World Bank group President Robert Zoellick, met in Sau Paulo, Brazil, to discuss local strategies to combat carbon emissions.

“We are leading the way and have much to share through the implementation of our ambitious Sustainable Sydney 2030 strategy covering energy,” said Ms Moore.

Ms Moore presented Sydney initiatives like water recycling projects, LED street lighting and plans for 55km cycle ways.

The Lord Mayor also presented plans to install tri-generation systems, which are set to reduce Sydney’s carbon emissions by 40 to 60 percent.

“Tri-generation systems will supply clusters of city centre buildings with electricity, heating and cooling,” said Ms Moore.

“They run on natural or renewable gases and will replace electricity from coal fired power stations, which currently produce 80 per cent of Sydney’s carbon emissions.”

This was the fourth C40 summit, with previous meetings held in major cities such as New York and London.

Ms Moore said cities use two-thirds of the world’s energy and emit over 70 percent of carbon emissions.

“Action on climate change is vital at the local and global level.

“The C40 brings these two components together, enabling cities to share practical experiences and new strategies to make our cities more sustainable,” said Ms Moore.

with Nicholas Jordan