The Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a project of the William J. Clinton Foundation, today announced a global program developed in collaboration with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), called the Climate Positive Development Program. The program will support the development of large-scale urban projects that demonstrate cities can grow in ways that are “climate positive.” Climate Positive real estate developments will strive to reduce the amount of on-site CO2 emissions to below zero.

Sixteen founding projects on six continents, supported by local governments and property developers, will demonstrate Climate Positive strategies, setting a compelling environmental and economic example for cities to follow.

Last year, for the first time, half the world’s population (3.2 billion people) lived in cities1, and that figure is expected to grow to 70 percent2 by 2050. Cities also occupy just 2 percent of the world’s landmass, yet are responsible for more than two-thirds of global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Rapid urban growth and climate change are putting our world’s cities in a vise grip of escalating infrastructure, energy, and health and human services costs that will be magnified by the pressure of climatic adaptation. How cities change and grow is therefore a critical component to tackling the climate crisis.

“As the Earth’s population increases and our cities grow, we need to ensure we have the models in place to sustain our way of life in an increasingly urbanized world,” President Clinton said. “The Climate Positive Development Program will set a new global standard for developments that will minimize environmental impacts and benefit economies as we build and rebuild homes, schools, and businesses. Today’s announcement builds off the work my Foundation and the C40 have done to initiate large-scale projects in more than 40 cities that are already reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making a significant impact in the fight against climate change.”

To reduce the net greenhouse gas emissions of these projects to below zero, property developers and local governments will agree to work in partnership on specific areas of activity. This includes implementing economically viable innovations in building, the generation of clean energy, waste management, water management, transportation, and outdoor lighting systems.

When the initial 16 projects are completed, nearly one million people will live and work in Climate Positive communities. These communities will be located in: Melbourne, Australia; Palhoça, Brazil; Toronto, Canada; Victoria, Canada; Ahmedabad, India; Jaipur, India; outside Panama City, Panama; Pretoria, South Africa; Johannesburg, South Africa; Seoul, South Korea; Stockholm, Sweden; London, UK; San Francisco, USA and Destiny Florida, USA.

The projects are:

Destiny Florida, Florida, USA

Dockside Green, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Godrej Garden City, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

Elephant & Castle, London Borough of Southwark, UK

Albert Basin, East London, UK

Magok Urban Development Project, Magok-dong Gayang-dong, Seoul, South Korea

Mahindra World City Jaipur, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Menlyn Maine, Pretoria, South Africa

VicUrban @ Officer, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Panama Pacifico, London & Regional Panama

Zonk'izizwe Town Center, Johannesburg, South Africa

Victoria Harbour, Docklands, Melbourne, Australia

Toronto Waterfront- Lower Don Lands, Toronto, Canada

Treasure Island Redevelopment Project, San Francisco, USA

Stockholm Royal Seaport, Stockholm, Sweden

Pedra Branca Sustainable Urbanism, Palhoça, Greater Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil