Press Release: President Clinton Acknowledges Lima's Commitment to Fight Climate Change

Major Traffic Lighting Project Announced

Lima, Peru – Today, President Bill Clinton joined Mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio of Lima, Peru, to discuss the city’s most recent achievements in addressing climate change.

President Clinton and Mayor Castañeda announced that the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima (MML) is making thousands of traffic lights across the city more energy efficient. Many lights have already been retrofitted and over the coming months, the MML will install over 6,000 new light emitting diode (LED) across the city. The LED lights being used are 90 percent more efficient than the old incandescent lights, and can last over 10 years.

Once the retrofit project is complete and all traffic lights in Lima have been converted to LEDs, it will, on an annual basis, reduce the city’s energy use by 5,200 megawatt hours, save over 4.5 million SOLES (approx. $1.5 million US dollars) and reduce more than 2,500 tons of carbon dioxide. The new traffic signals are also part of a modern Advanced Traffic Management System and sophisticated control center that enables the adjustment of traffic light cycles in order to minimize traffic congestion.

The William J. Clinton Foundation launched the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) to create and advance solutions to the core issues driving climate change. CCI is increasing energy efficiency in cities, advancing the large-scale supply of clean energy, and working to restore forests and stop deforestation.

President Clinton and Mayor Castañeda gathered at Estación Central, Lima’s central station, which is one of 35 stations on a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, the Metropolitano. The Metropolitano is made up of 26 kilometers of dedicated bus lanes, supported by 32 kilometers of feeder lanes. These lanes have the capacity to serve over 700,000 passengers a day and the buses are powered by 100 percent Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), which is locally-sourced and has 97 percent fewer particulates than the traditional diesel busses they replaced, and significant reductions in nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxides. Once complete, the project will reduce CO₂ emissions by 200,000 tons per year. All of the stations along the Metropolitano, including Estación Central, feature energy efficient lighting.

“By reducing energy use through energy-efficient improvements to Lima’s traffic lighting and bus rapid transit system, the city will not only save money on its energy bills, but also improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion,” President Clinton said. “I’m proud my climate initiative is assisting the Lima and other large cities in implementing projects which will yield tremendous economic and environmental benefits for both the city and the planet.”

“I welcome the global environmental conservation efforts that are being taken to combat climate change and provide a better quality of life for the population,” said Lima Mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio. “The Municipality of Lima has developed a series of programs that aim to conserve and protect the environment. This includes the planting one million trees; irrigation of green areas using recycled water; promotion of compressed natural gas through the Metropolitano which features natural gas buses; the use of LED traffic lights; as well as a number of other actions. These are helping to improve the lives of the population and importantly, conserve the environment from the dangers posed by climate change and its devastating consequences.”

Lima is a member of the C40, an association of large cities around the world that have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. CCI is the delivery partner of the C40 and is assisting Lima on a number of flagship projects, including the conversion of traffic lights to LEDs and the development of the BRT system, Metropolitano. CCI is providing Lima with project design, technologies and procurement advice.

Outdoor lighting systems can account for a significant percentage of a city’s electricity usage. However, new lighting technologies such as high-efficacy LED and induction lamps, and centralized intelligent control systems, can enable cities to reduce their lighting energy use by up to 90 percent. CCI is working on 17 outdoor lighting retrofits in 16 cities around the world, advising on project management, purchasing, financing and technology. Five of these projects are focused on making traffic lights more energy efficient. In addition to Lima, CCI is also helping Bogota, Houston, Rio de Janeiro and Rotterdam to retrofit their traffic lights. Once complete, these five projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 11,000 tons every year.

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