The City of Sydney will lead an international network of global cities to guide strategic direction on energy efficiency solutions. The City is a founding member of C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of 69 global cities taking action on climate change.

The City’s proven credentials on climate change action have now taken it to a leadership role in the group – for the next 12 months, the City will co-chair the C40 Private Sector Buildings Energy Efficiency Network with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, working with the Tokyo Government to guide the network’s strategic direction, establish an annual work plan and collaborate with other cities to put the plan into action.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore explains that cities generate over 70 per cent of the world’s carbon pollution and are home to more than half the world’s population, making them the best place to act on climate change. Collaboration is therefore necessary between cities to share information on success stories and drive significant action on climate change.

The City of Sydney will be working with cities from Europe, North America, Latin America, Oceania and East Asia.

C40 Chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor, Eduardo Paes said cities go farther and faster when they collaborate and share ideas. Commending the City of Sydney for taking a leadership role in the C40 private sector network to build energy efficiency, Mayor Paes said Sydney has made valuable contributions to the network to date.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the new C40 leadership role would allow the City to work with, and learn from, world-class expertise that will benefit Sydney landlords and tenants involved in the City’s energy efficiency programs.

Through the C40 network, Sydney’s property owners and tenants will be able to take on global targets, inspiration and information from around the world, further improving energy efficiency in Sydney’s buildings and slashing carbon emissions in the heart of the city.

Part of the City’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 program is a community-driven mission to address climate change. The City is also Australia’s first carbon-neutral government with ambitious targets to reduce emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 on 2006 levels.

The City has partnered with many Australian businesses and communities to reduce emissions while making significant savings to their bottom line through a series of programs including Smart Green Business, City Switch, Better Buildings Partnership and Smart Green Apartments.

Work is also in progress on a comprehensive energy efficiency master plan that will be released later this year.